War
Mapped: Ukrainian Refugee Destinations by the Numbers
Mapped: Ukrainian Refugee Destinations by the Numbers
It’s been more than a year since Russia invaded Ukraine and forced refugees to seek destinations for new (or temporary) homes.
This ongoing conflict has resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises in Europe in recent times. Millions of people have fled their homes and sought temporary or permanent asylum in countries across Europe, and the world.
This map by Pranav Gavali uses UNHCR data as of March 11, 2023 to highlight the countries that became Ukrainian refugee destinations.
Top Refugee Destinations in Europe
Over eight million Ukraine residents have found shelter outside of the country since February 2022, primarily in Europe.
Country | Ukrainian Refugees |
---|---|
🇷🇺 Russia | 2,852,395 |
🇵🇱 Poland | 1,564,711 |
🇩🇪 Germany | 1,055,323 |
🇨🇿 Czechia | 497,217 |
🇮🇹 Italy | 171,739 |
🇪🇸 Spain | 168,654 |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 164,500 |
🇫🇷 France | 118,994 |
🇸🇰 Slovakia | 111,173 |
🇷🇴 Romania | 110,921 |
🇲🇩 Moldova | 107,728 |
🇹🇷 Türkiye | 95,874 |
🇦🇹 Austria | 94,343 |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | 89,730 |
🇨🇭 Switzerland | 81,862 |
🇮🇪 Ireland | 75,260 |
🇱🇹 Lithuania | 75,197 |
🇧🇪 Belgium | 68,869 |
🇪🇪 Estonia | 67601 |
🇵🇹 Portugal | 58,242 |
🇸🇪 Sweden | 52,325 |
🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 50,112 |
🇫🇮 Finland | 47,067 |
🇳🇴 Norway | 41,519 |
🇩🇰 Denmark | 40,613 |
🇱🇻 Latvia | 35,243 |
🇭🇺 Hungary | 34,248 |
🇲🇪 Montenegro | 34,170 |
🇬🇪 Georgia | 25,701 |
🇭🇷 Croatia | 21,115 |
🇧🇾 Belarus | 20,983 |
🇬🇷 Greece | 20,955 |
🇨🇾 Cyprus | 15,992 |
🇸🇮 Slovenia | 9,061 |
🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 6,756 |
🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 6,514 |
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 4,928 |
🇷🇸 Serbia and 🇽🇰 Kosovo | 3,028 |
🇦🇱 Albania | 2,686 |
🇮🇸 Iceland | 2,239 |
🇲🇹 Malta | 1,744 |
🇦🇲 Armenia | 541 |
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | 410 |
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 165 |
The largest share of refugees at 35% have actually gone directly to Russia. Despite various reports of forced transfers of Ukrainian refugees to Russia, the country claims to have helped evacuate civilians without force.
The next largest intakes were from Poland and Germany, thanks in part to their close proximity and strong regional economies. Both have welcomed more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees, with Poland accepting over 1.5 million alone.
Czechia, Italy, and Spain are the next highest recipients of Ukrainian refugees in Europe, taking in a collective total of 10%.
And some refugees have ended up outside of Europe as well, though the UNCHR’s tracker only includes European countries. The U.S. for example is the fifth largest Ukrainian refugee destination overall, taking in more than 200,000 refugees through December 2022.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Countries
Ranked: Share of Global Arms Exports in 2022
The U.S. is the biggest weapons exporter in the world, but which other countries take up a significant share of global arms exports in 2022? And how has that share changed over time?

Ranked: Share of Global Arms Exports 2018–2022
In 2022, global military budgets hit $2.2 trillion, an eighth consecutive year of increase.
Part of those budgets were used for the procurement of arms, but which countries are major weapons suppliers, and how do they influence the global arms trade?
We chart out the top 10 countries with the biggest share of global arms exports using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Which Country Exports the Most Weapons?
The U.S. is the biggest weapons exporter, accounting for 40% of the total volume of international arms transfers between 2018–2022. Nearly one-fifth of these exports headed to Saudi Arabia, and other significant amounts went to Japan (8.6%) and Australia (8.4%).
Below we rank the biggest weapons exporters by share of total volume traded in 2018–2022, as well as their growth or decline from trends recorded in 2013–2017.
Rank | Country | % share of global arms exports (2018-2022) | % change between 2013-17 & 2018-22 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 40% | +14% |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 16% | -31% |
3 | 🇫🇷 France | 11% | +44% |
4 | 🇨🇳 China | 5% | -23% |
5 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 4% | -35% |
6 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 4% | +45% |
7 | 🇬🇧 UK | 3% | -35% |
8 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 3% | -4% |
9 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 2% | +74% |
10 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 2% | -15% |
N/A | 🌐 Rest of World | 9% | N/A |
Russia (16%) and France (11%) rank close together, followed by China (5%) and Germany (4%) to round out the top five major arms exporters.
However France’s export volumes grown considerably (+44%) from the previous five-year period, thanks to big sales to India, which included 62 combat aircraft and four submarines, one-third of all French weapons trade. This has resulted in France leapfrogging the U.S. as India’s second-largest weapons supplier after Russia.
On the other hand, Russia’s exports by volume has decreased (-31%) even before sanctions kicked in after the invasion of Ukraine. Its biggest trade partners, India and China, have prioritized developing their own weapons industries.
South Korea’s Surging Weapons Exports
Another country whose arms sales are skyrocketing is South Korea, which ranks 9th in the overall share of global arms exports, but has seen a 74% increase in its export volumes. Key recipients include the Philippines, India, and Thailand.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to grow his country into the world’s fourth largest arms exporter by 2027.
Interestingly, South Korea is one of three countries which is both a top-10 arms exporter and importer (along with China and the U.S.) as it has many takers for domestically produced military equipment, while simultaneously being reliant on American-produced long-range missiles and advanced combat aircraft.
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