Quiz of the Day
Refugees & Migration
Saturday, 20 June 2026
World Refugee Day — migration patterns, famous refugees, humanitarian efforts
1. Approximately how many people worldwide are forcibly displaced from their homes?
- About 30 million
- About 200 million
- About 60 million
- Over 110 million
If all displaced people formed a single country, it would be one of the most populous nations on Earth — larger than Germany, the UK, or France. The number has doubled in just a decade.
2. What is the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker?
- An asylum seeker has more rights
- Refugees come from war zones; asylum seekers do not
- A refugee has been granted protection; an asylum seeker is still waiting for a decision
- There is no difference
The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as someone who has fled their country due to a well-founded fear of persecution. An asylum seeker is someone who has applied for this status but not yet received a decision.
3. Which country hosts the largest number of refugees?
- Germany
- Turkey
- Uganda
- Iran
Turkey hosts approximately 3.6 million refugees, the vast majority from Syria. Contrary to common perception, about 75% of the world's refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries, not wealthy Western nations.
4. Which UN agency is responsible for protecting refugees worldwide?
- WHO
- UNHCR
- UNICEF
- UNESCO
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950, originally with a three-year mandate. Over 70 years later, its work is more needed than ever. It has won the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981.
5. Albert Einstein became a refugee from which country?
- Germany
- Poland
- Austria
- Switzerland
Einstein fled Nazi Germany in 1933 after Hitler's rise to power. The Nazis put a bounty on his head and burned his books. He settled in Princeton, New Jersey, and helped other refugees escape Europe. He once said: 'I am almost ashamed to be living in such peace while all the rest struggle and suffer.'
6. What is the world's largest refugee camp?
- Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
- Kakuma, Kenya
- Dadaab, Kenya
- Zaatari, Jordan
The Kutupalong camp complex in Cox's Bazar houses over 900,000 Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar. It covers roughly 26 square kilometres, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth.
7. Which famous children's book author fled Nazi-occupied Europe as a child?
- Enid Blyton
- Dr. Seuss
- Roald Dahl
- Judith Kerr
Judith Kerr, author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and the Mog books, fled Berlin with her family in 1933 when she was nine. Her semi-autobiographical novel When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit recounts a child's experience of becoming a refugee.
8. What does the term 'internally displaced person' (IDP) mean?
- Someone who voluntarily migrates for work
- Someone who has moved within their own country
- Someone forced to flee their home but who has not crossed an international border
- A refugee who has been relocated
There are roughly 60 million internally displaced people worldwide — more than the total number of refugees. Because they have not crossed a border, they are not covered by the Refugee Convention and often receive less international support.
9. The Kindertransport rescued approximately 10,000 children from which threat?
- Nazi persecution in Europe
- The Russian Revolution
- The Irish Famine
- The Spanish Civil War
Between 1938 and 1940, Britain took in nearly 10,000 mostly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Many never saw their parents again. Notable Kindertransport refugees include filmmaker Karel Reisz and publisher Lord Weidenfeld.
10. Which musician and former refugee performed 'Three Little Birds' and advocated for unity and justice?
- Wyclef Jean
- Bob Marley
- M.I.A.
- Fela Kuti
M.I.A. (Mathangi Arulpragasam) fled Sri Lanka's civil war as a child and grew up as a refugee in London. She was nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy. Bob Marley, while a powerful voice for justice, was not himself a refugee.
11. What percentage of refugees worldwide are children?
- About 30%
- About 40%
- About 50%
- About 20%
Children make up about 40% of the world's displaced population. An estimated 1.5 million refugee children are not in school. On average, refugees spend about 20 years in exile before they can return home or find a permanent new country.
12. Which small island nation has accepted more refugees per capita than any other country?
- Malta
- Lebanon
- Nauru
- Jordan
Lebanon, with a population of about 5.5 million, hosted roughly 1.5 million Syrian refugees at the peak of the crisis — approximately 1 in 4 people in the country. It has more refugees per capita than any other nation.
13. What was the Nansen Passport?
- A Norwegian travel document
- A passport for diplomats
- A visa for polar explorers
- An internationally recognised identity document for stateless refugees
Created in 1922 by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, the Nansen Passport was the first internationally recognised travel document for stateless refugees. It was eventually accepted by 52 countries and helped hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
14. Which tech company was co-founded by Sergey Brin, who came to the US as a child refugee from the Soviet Union?
- Tesla
- Amazon
Sergey Brin emigrated from the Soviet Union at age six with his family, who faced antisemitic discrimination. He co-founded Google in a garage in 1998. He has said: 'I know the feeling of being an outsider. It was a big factor in my success.'
15. What does the principle of 'non-refoulement' mean in refugee law?
- Countries cannot return refugees to places where they face serious threats
- Refugees are entitled to work permits
- Host countries must provide housing
- Refugees must register within 30 days
Non-refoulement is the cornerstone of international refugee protection and is considered so fundamental that it has become a rule of customary international law, binding even on countries that have not signed the Refugee Convention.