September 04, 2015 - 1:57 PM
OTTAWA - The image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi dead on a Turkish beach refocused attention on how the world is coping with the Syrian refugee tragedy — and the role Canada is playing.
Here are some numbers to consider:
4,088,078: The number of Syrian refugees who have fled their country since the outbreak of civil war in 2012, according to the latest data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
2,000: The number of Syrian refugees who have drowned trying to reach Europe since 2011, according to a UN report released this week.
23 million: Syria's population before the civil war. The UN estimates that half the population has been displaced internally or fled the country.
2,374: The number of Syrian refugees that Canada has admitted through government assisted and privately sponsored refugee programs.
10,000: The number of additional Syrian refugees the Canadian government says it will accept by 2017.
$795,336.928: The shortfall in funding that the UN refugee agency faces this year. It has raised only 41 per cent of the $1.3 billion it says it needs to care for refugees in 2015.
$11,899,170: The amount Canada has contributed to the UN refugee agency for Syria this year. That ranks Canada seventh among about 30 donor countries or entities that are contributing.
$219,335,000: The amount the U.S. has contributed. It ranks first, followed by Kuwait at $101,890,000.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015