People continue to leave Venezuela to escape violence, insecurity and threats as well as lack of food, medicine and essential services. With over 6 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants worldwide, the vast majority in countries within Latin America and the Caribbean, this has become the second-largest external displacement crisis in the world.
Children, women and men continue to leave Venezuela for neighbouring countries and beyond due to the ongoing political, human rights and socio-economic developments in their country. Many arrive scared, tired and in dire need of assistance.
6 million
refugees and migrants from Venezuela worldwide
Over 950,000
asylum-seekers from Venezuela worldwide
About 2.7 million
living under other legal forms of stay in the Americas
Over 186,800
Recognized refugees from Venezuela
US$ 1.79 billion
Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) funding appeal for 2022
Source: R4V.info
In the past, Venezuela hosted thousands of refugees from the region and other parts of the world. Now the number of refugees and migrants from Venezuela has surpassed 6 million globally, according to data from governments receiving them, making this the second-largest external displacement crisis in the world. A significant number of them are in need of international protection.
Venezuelans are still leaving their country and there is little sign the outflows will stop soon. Those leaving are increasingly vulnerable and with very few resources. Many refugees and migrants from Venezuela are facing poverty and struggling to survive. The COVID-19 pandemic compounded an already difficult situation forcing Venezuelans deeper into poverty. Many families, forced to reduce their food intake, have taken on debts to be able to survive. They are at risk of evictions, exploitation and protection risks.
Amid economic hardships and political discontent in some countries, refugees and migrants can be scapegoated and stigmatized, with increasing competition for jobs and limited access to public services.
The majority of refugees and migrants from Venezuela arriving in neighbouring countries are families with children, pregnant women, elderly people and people with disabilities. Often obliged to take irregular routes to reach safety, they may fall prey to smugglers, traffickers and irregular armed groups. As more and more families arrive with fewer and fewer resources, they are in immediate need of documentation, protection, shelter, food and medicine.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans remain without any documentation or permission to stay regularly in nearby countries, and therefore lack guaranteed access to basic rights.
While host communities and countries in the region are committed to helping Venezuelans and have been generously welcoming them, they are increasingly overstretched. Several countries have initiated large-scale regularization processes to ensure refugees and migrants have access to rights and services. However, these efforts and gestures of solidarity require financial support to succeed and ensure no one is left behind.
