Where refugees in South Carolina are arriving from
Where refugees in South Carolina 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 South Carolina in March 2024.
March refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in March
To South Carolina:
#1. Congo: 18
#2. Guatemala: 17
#3. Congo: 16
#4. Syria: 10
#5. Central African Republic: 8
#5. Sudan: 8
#7. Myanmar: 7
#7. Venezuela: 7
#9. Ukraine: 5
#10. Eritrea: 4
#10. Senegal: 4
#12. Chad: 1
#12. Mali: 1
#12. Russia: 1
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 South Carolina has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To South Carolina: 176
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
#2. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To South Carolina: 94
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
#3. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To South Carolina: 68
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
#4. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To South Carolina: 56
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,220
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 301
#2. Texas: 210
#3. North Carolina: 163
#4. Florida: 141
#5. New York: 95
#5. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To South Carolina: 40
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,067
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 612
#2. Texas: 429
#3. Georgia: 170
#4. Illinois: 163
#5. Tennessee: 120
#6. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To South Carolina: 28
To the U.S. as a whole: 810
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 291
#2. California: 122
#3. New York: 42
#4. Ohio: 40
#5. Florida: 37
#7. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To South Carolina: 23
To the U.S. as a whole: 164
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 25
#2. New York: 24
#3. South Carolina: 23
#4. Connecticut: 13
#4. Michigan: 13
#7. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To South Carolina: 23
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
#9. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To South Carolina: 21
To the U.S. as a whole: 563
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 64
#2. Texas: 55
#3. Michigan: 54
#4. Georgia: 40
#5. Massachusetts: 34
#10. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To South Carolina: 20
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
#11. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To South Carolina: 17
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
#12. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To South Carolina: 16
To the U.S. as a whole: 557
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 89
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 36
#13. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To South Carolina: 12
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
#14. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To South Carolina: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 123
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 33
#2. North Carolina: 11
#3. South Carolina: 10
#3. Kansas: 10
#5. Kentucky: 9
#14. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To South Carolina: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 939
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 161
#2. California: 78
#3. Texas: 65
#4. Minnesota: 46
#5. North Carolina: 40
#16. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To South Carolina: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 722
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 67
#3. Texas: 58
#4. New York: 52
#5. Washington: 46
#16. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To South Carolina: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 248
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 75
#2. California: 57
#3. Oregon: 24
#4. Minnesota: 20
#5. North Carolina: 19
#16. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To South Carolina: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,067
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 83
#2. Texas: 80
#3. Pennsylvania: 76
#4. Nebraska: 65
#5. Missouri: 60
#19. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To South Carolina: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 292
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. California: 94
#2. Washington: 87
#3. Florida: 18
#4. Minnesota: 17
#4. Oregon: 17
#20. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To South Carolina: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 97
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 11
#2. Pennsylvania: 10
#3. Nevada: 8
#4. California: 7
#5. South Carolina: 6
#21. Armenia
Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To South Carolina: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 128
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 122
#2. South Carolina: 5
#3. Oregon: 1
#21. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To South Carolina: 5
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
#23. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To South Carolina: 4
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
#24. Belarus
Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To South Carolina: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 223
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 61
#2. California: 42
#3. Pennsylvania: 21
#4. Massachusetts: 20
#5. New York: 19
#25. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To South Carolina: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 789
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 100
#2. California: 93
#3. Maryland: 78
#4. North Carolina: 62
#5. Virginia: 59
#25. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To South Carolina: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 76
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 7
#2. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5
#25. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To South Carolina: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 40
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Massachusetts: 6
#1. Missouri: 6
#3. Ohio: 5
#4. Michigan: 4
#4. Washington: 4
#28. Liberia
Refugees that arrived from Liberia since October 2023
To South Carolina: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 6
Top states receiving refugees from Liberia
#1. Kansas: 3
#2. Michigan: 1
#2. Pennsylvania: 1
#2. South Carolina: 1
#28. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To South Carolina: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 253
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 76
#2. Ohio: 25
#3. Washington: 24
#4. Georgia: 23
#5. lowa: 12
#28. Chad
Refugees that arrived from Chad since October 2023
To South Carolina: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 5
Top states receiving refugees from Chad
#1. Arizona: 1
#1. Georgia: 1
#1. Minnesota: 1
#1. South Carolina: 1
#1. Texas: 1
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 47 states.
