Where Refugees in New Hampshire Are Arriving From

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Where refugees in New Hampshire are arriving from

During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.

In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.

Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.

In March 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.

For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. In Myanmar, state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya people has displaced nearly 2 million people internally. Another million are in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in New Hampshire in March 2024.

March refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in March
To New Hampshire:
#1. Congo: 17
#2. Eritrea: 4

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,089
#2. Afghanistan: 1,031
#3. Myanmar: 765
#4. Syria: 594
#5. Venezuela: 563

States that accepted the most refugees in March:
#1. Texas: 916
#2. California: 495
#3. New York: 473
#4. Pennsylvania: 346
#5. Florida: 315

Read on to see the countries that New Hampshire has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

Cars, people and mopeds on the streets of Kinshasa.

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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 81

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,018
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,049
#2. Kentucky: 1,013
#3. Arizona: 854
#4. New York: 762
#5. Ohio: 761

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market

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Canva

#2. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 11

To the U.S. as a whole: 6,956
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,449
#2. Virginia: 710
#3. Texas: 700
#4. Washington: 482
#5. Maryland: 303

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#3. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 9

To the U.S. as a whole: 963
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 107
#2. Washington: 95
#3. Ohio: 67
#4. Maryland: 65
#5. North Carolina: 53

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#4. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 844
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 154
#2. Michigan: 105
#3. Texas: 50
#4. Nebraska: 47
#5. Washington: 42

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#5. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,600
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 514
#2. Ohio: 126
#3. Arizona: 78
#3. New York: 78
#5. Georgia: 63

People buying spices at a street market in Damascus

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hanohiki // Shutterstock

#5. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 7,412
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 702
#2. Michigan: 699
#3. Pennsylvania: 516
#4. Texas: 434
#5. California: 409

A distant view of the Havana skyline in Cuba.

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Canva

#7. Cuba

Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 88
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 39
#2. Texas: 10
#3. Tennessee: 7
#4. Washington: 6
#5. New Hampshire: 4

A horse-drawn taxi passes through a busy shopping area

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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#8. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,664
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 416
#2. Illinois: 394
#3. New York: 349
#4. Georgia: 245
#5. Wisconsin: 232

Woman and child on busy market street of Copan

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amnat30 // Shutterstock

#8. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 556
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 95
#2. Florida: 72
#3. Georgia: 40
#4. California: 37
#5. New York: 32

Women beside fishing boats on the beaches of Yoff

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Salvador Aznar // Shutterstock

#10. Senegal

Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To New Hampshire: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 60
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 15
#2. Texas: 8
#3. Georgia: 6
#4. South Carolina: 5
#5. Ohio: 4

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 47 states.