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Where refugees in Oklahoma are arriving from

Written by:
October 9, 2024
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

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

In Venezuela, over 7.5 million people have left the country due to extreme inflation, violence, food and medicine scarcity, and other factors. Most have resettled in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. 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.

Stacker referenced data from the Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Oklahoma in September 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

September refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in September
To Oklahoma:
#1. Myanmar: 34
#2. Venezuela: 27
#3. Nicaragua: 12
#4. Afghanistan: 4
#5. Guatemala: 3
#6. Cuba: 2
#6. Eritrea: 2

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 3,653
#2. Congo: 2,296
#3. Afghanistan: 2,068
#4. Syria: 1,585
#5. Myanmar: 1,455

States that accepted the most refugees in September:
#1. Texas: 1,702
#2. California: 1,550
#3. New York: 918
#4. Florida: 768
#5. Illinois: 750

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

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An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.
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#1. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 186

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,878
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Texas: 2,039
#2. Florida: 1,883
#3. Illinois: 664
#4. New York: 514
#5. Georgia: 512

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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#2. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 151

To the U.S. as a whole: 7,347
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 882
#2. Illinois: 761
#3. New York: 736
#4. Wisconsin: 570
#5. Georgia: 462

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market
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#3. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 83

To the U.S. as a whole: 14,707
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 3,171
#2. Texas: 1,574
#3. Virginia: 1,257
#4. Washington: 889
#5. New York: 658

Daily scene of tuktuks, street stalls and motorbikes in San Pedro
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Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#4. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 69

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,017
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 794
#2. Texas: 551
#3. Florida: 257
#4. North Carolina: 255
#5. New York: 219

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 Oklahoma: 49

To the U.S. as a whole: 11,274
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 1,186
#2. New York: 1,112
#3. Pennsylvania: 954
#4. California: 763
#5. Texas: 676

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People walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua
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Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#6. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 44

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,299
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 382
#2. Texas: 313
#3. California: 259
#4. North Carolina: 139
#5. Minnesota: 135

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia
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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#7. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 21

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,382
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 137
#2. Texas: 117
#3. New York: 114
#4. Washington: 95
#5. North Carolina: 93

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amnat30 // Shutterstock

#8. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 16

To the U.S. as a whole: 901
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 144
#2. Florida: 108
#3. New York: 62
#4. California: 48
#5. Georgia: 44

Woman carries basket through street in Bukavu
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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#9. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 12

To the U.S. as a whole: 19,922
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,791
#2. Kentucky: 1,735
#3. Ohio: 1,343
#4. New York: 1,295
#5. Arizona: 1,274

Many people on a dirt street in Shendi
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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#9. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 12

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,180
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 194
#2. Texas: 170
#3. Ohio: 146
#4. Pennsylvania: 132
#5. Missouri: 124

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sandis sveicers // Shutterstock

#11. Central African Republic

Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 11

To the U.S. as a whole: 864
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 89
#2. Texas: 82
#3. Michigan: 63
#4. Georgia: 60
#5. Colorado: 56

People crossing a busy street near Moscow’s business center
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YuryKara // Shutterstock

#12. Russia

Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 347
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 83
#2. California: 78
#3. Oregon: 43
#4. Minnesota: 22
#4. North Carolina: 22

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karp5 // Shutterstock

#13. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 391
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 91
#2. California: 89
#3. Massachusetts: 34
#4. New York: 27
#5. Pennsylvania: 24

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#14. Vietnam

Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 118
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Minnesota: 52
#2. North Carolina: 37
#3. California: 8
#4. Oklahoma: 7
#5. Arkansas: 5

People walking on the street in Aksum
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Artush // Shutterstock

#15. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 501
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 152
#2. Washington: 46
#3. Texas: 38
#4. Ohio: 33
#5. Georgia: 29

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Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara
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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#15. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,410
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 286
#2. Washington: 253
#3. lowa: 162
#4. North Carolina: 141
#5. Maryland: 129

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa
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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#15. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,801
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 1,267
#2. New York: 366
#3. Ohio: 326
#4. Arizona: 280
#5. Missouri: 257

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#15. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,331
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 187
#2. Texas: 174
#3. Maryland: 119
#4. Virginia: 99
#5. North Carolina: 83

People walking through the Chitta Gate in the old town area of Lahore
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W_NAMKET // Shutterstock

#19. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 856
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 120
#2. Texas: 88
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. Illinois: 57
#5. North Carolina: 56

Woman carrying child to Lviv train station on snowy day
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Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#20. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,447
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 524
#2. California: 248
#3. New York: 90
#4. Florida: 74
#5. South Carolina: 61

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A distant view of the Havana skyline in Cuba.
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#21. Cuba

Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 255
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 98
#2. Texas: 33
#3. New York: 12
#3. Maryland: 12
#5. Tennessee: 10

People on a busy street in Phnom Penh
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aleksander hunta // Shutterstock

#21. Cambodia

Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 58
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 17
#2. Rhode Island: 10
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. California: 5
#4. Oregon: 5

Elevated view of Baghdad street scene
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Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#21. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Oklahoma: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,278
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 364
#2. Michigan: 260
#3. Texas: 189
#4. Nebraska: 136
#5. Illinois: 122

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.

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