Pledges to resettle refugees in five countries and the EU: 25% to 126% of the promised number by the deadline
- US: 10k Syrians126%
- Canada: 25k Syrians105%
- Switzerland: 2k in 2 years100%
- UK: 20k Syrians99%
- EU: 20k in 2 years97%
- France: 10k in 2020–2133%
- UK: 5k in the first year25%
Resettled by the deadline, % of the promised number
25% to 126% of the promised number by the deadline.
The numbers named during the 2015 Syrian crisis were met by Canada, the US and Switzerland and nearly met by the UK and the EU. Furthest from plan were the 2020–2021 schemes, when the pandemic stopped resettlement.
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Resettlement is when a country itself takes refugees from camps and neighbouring countries, usually from a list by the UN refugee agency. Governments name how many people they will take and by when. Here are seven such pledges beside how many people came.
A row is one promise: who, what and by when. The question is whether at least half came true. Answer Yes or No, or just open the answer: each row gets its outcome and what actually came of it, the card a stamp counting those that came true. Quotes and links to the facts are below.
- US: 10k Syrians — Josh Earnest, 2015 Syrian refugees admitted
promised 10,000 by 2016; fact 12,587 (126%). 12,587 Syrian refugees were admitted in FY2016, up from 1,682 a year earlier.
Refugee Processing Center (State Department), WRAPS, Admissions and Arrivals
- Canada: 25k Syrians — Government of Canada (Justin Trudeau cabinet), Immigration Minister John McCallum, 2015 Syrian refugees arrived 4 Nov 2015 - 29 Feb 2016
promised 25,000 by 2016; fact 26,172 (105%). 25,000 promised by end-February 2016; 26,172 arrived.
- Switzerland: 2k in 2 years — Swiss Federal Council, 2016 people who arrived under the programme
promised 2,000 by 2018; fact 1,993 (100%). Promised to take 2,000 refugees over two years — 1,993 people arrived under the programme (the last in spring 2019).
- UK: 20k Syrians — David Cameron, 2015 people, cumulative from Q4 2015, end of year
promised 20,000 by 2020; fact 19,763 (99%). 19,101 people resettled by end-2019 and 19,763 by end-2020; 20,000 was passed in Q1 2021 (20,319 under the scheme in total).
- EU: 20k in 2 years — Council of the EU (representatives of the governments), 2015 people, total under the July 2015 scheme
promised 20,000 by 2017; fact 19,432 (97%). The scheme closed in 2017 with 19,432 people resettled against a goal of 20,000 and national pledges of 22,504 places.
Европейская комиссия, пресс-релиз IP/18/1763, 14 марта 2018; промежуточные — IP/17/218 и IP/17/3081
- France: 10k in 2020–21 — French Interior Ministry, 2019 people resettled to France in the year
promised 10,000 by 2021; fact 3,275 (33%). France resettled 3,275 refugees in 2020 and 2021 (1,340 and 1,935) against a plan of 10,000; the total since 2020 passed 10,000 only in 2024 (11,745).
- UK: 5k in the first year — Sajid Javid, 2019 people resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme in the calendar year
promised 5,000 by 2021; fact 1,269 (25%). The scheme started in 2021; 1,269 people were resettled under it in the first year instead of about 5,000.
Pledges: verbatim from statements of governments and parliaments, press releases and EU Council decisions. Fact: statistics of the UK Home Office, the US State Department, Canada’s immigration ministry, Switzerland’s migration secretariat, the European Commission and Eurostat. Outcome: «came true» — the promised number reached by the deadline («about» within 5%), an event happened before the end of the year promised; «exceeded» — with room to spare; «nearly» — short by no more than 10%; «late» — reached, but after the deadline; «did not come true» — not reached; «came true, then undone» — reached, then reversed. The deadline is the end of the year named.
Canada’s 26,172 include 8,954 refugees taken on by private sponsors. The UK passed 20,000 Syrians in early 2021, a quarter late. EU countries pledged more than the goal, 22,504 places; against that the outcome is 86%. The US number was given by the White House press secretary, conveying President Obama’s position.
A question for this picture
Why are pledges to resettle refugees kept more exactly than migration pledges in general?