Dec. 18 is the 25th annual International Migrants Day. Though many believe that the term "migrant" refers only to those who move for work, in reality, the word refers to any people who leave their homeland in search of a better life. This year, the world's migrant population includes a record number of refugees — defined as people who have been forced to flee their homes for reasons such as war, extreme poverty, or environmental disaster. (For information about economic migration, check out the International Labour Organization's data on labor migrants.)
2015 has been marked by particularly dramatic coverage of the refugee crisis spilling from the Middle East into Europe. These heart-wrenching stories drew the issue of refugees into the headlines for a few weeks, but they represent just a small portion of the displaced people around the globe.
In addition to the refugees from Iraq and Syria, millions of other refugees and migrants are facing their own challenges. Each day last year, an average of 42,500 people became refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced — and today, a staggering 65,000,000 people worldwide fall into one of these categories. Roughly half of these refugees are children, and the vast majority come from lower socioeconomic strata. (Courtesy of Bustle)
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