Refugees coming to Kentucky, where are they coming from?

Published 5:15 pm Thursday, March 7, 2024

Where refugees in Kentucky 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 February 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. 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. Syria has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.

Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Kentucky in February 2024.

February refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in February
To Kentucky:
#1. Congo: 204
#2. Syria: 23
#3. Somalia: 20
#4. Burma: 19
#5. Central African Republic: 16
#6. Ukraine: 12
#7. Venezuela: 8
#8. Honduras: 7
#9. Colombia: 6
#9. Sudan: 6
#11. Pakistan: 3
#11. Rwanda: 3
#13. Republic of South Sudan: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,426
#2. Afghanistan: 1,299
#3. Venezuela: 1,230
#4. Syria: 981
#5. Burma: 826

States that accepted the most refugees in February:
#1. Texas: 1,062
#2. California: 572
#3. Florida: 554
#4. New York: 507
#5. Arizona: 450

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


Cars, people and mopeds on the streets of Kinshasa.

Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Kentucky: 893

To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600

People buying spices at a street market in Damascus

hanohiki // Shutterstock

#2. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Kentucky: 109

To the U.S. as a whole: 6,818
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 673
#2. Michigan: 655
#3. Pennsylvania: 465
#4. Texas: 375
#5. California: 361

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa

Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#3. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Kentucky: 50

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,283
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 419
#2. Ohio: 110
#3. Georgia: 63
#4. New York: 62
#5. Arizona: 61

Woman carrying child to Lviv train station on snowy day

Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#4. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Kentucky: 35

To the U.S. as a whole: 725
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 249
#2. California: 110
#3. Ohio: 40
#4. New York: 37
#5. Kentucky: 35

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market

Canva

#5. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 30

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,925
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,228
#2. Virginia: 655
#3. Texas: 542
#4. Washington: 440
#5. Maryland: 272

A horse-drawn taxi passes through a busy shopping area

Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#6. Burma

Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Kentucky: 28

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,899
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Texas: 327
#2. Illinois: 297
#3. New York: 266
#4. Georgia: 192
#5. Arizona: 189

Daily scene of tuktuks, street stalls and motorbikes in San Pedro

Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#7. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Kentucky: 24

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,920
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 270
#2. Texas: 172
#3. North Carolina: 148
#4. Florida: 113
#5. New York: 87

Group of children playing soccer on a rural road

sandis sveicers // Shutterstock

#8. Central African Republic

Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Kentucky: 16

To the U.S. as a whole: 395
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Texas: 45
#2. Missouri: 38
#3. Georgia: 31
#4. Michigan: 24
#4. Massachusetts: 24

Woman and child on busy market street of Copan

amnat30 // Shutterstock

#9. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Kentucky: 15

To the U.S. as a whole: 505
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 87
#2. Florida: 65
#3. California: 33
#4. Georgia: 32
#4. New York: 32

Many people on a dirt street in Shendi

Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#10. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 13

To the U.S. as a whole: 870
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Missouri: 57
#2. Nebraska: 56
#3. Texas: 55
#3. New York: 55
#5. Pennsylvania: 54

An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.

Canva

#10. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Kentucky: 13

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,504
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 501
#2. Texas: 304
#3. Georgia: 146
#4. Illinois: 143
#5. Tennessee: 110

Men gathered in the streets with motorcycles in Juba

punghi // Shutterstock

#12. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 12

To the U.S. as a whole: 610
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 59
#2. Texas: 56
#3. Connecticut: 53
#4. Colorado: 46
#5. Minnesota: 44

Elevated view of Baghdad street scene

Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#13. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Kentucky: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 762
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 136
#2. Michigan: 95
#3. Nebraska: 45
#3. Texas: 45
#5. Washington: 38

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara

Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#14. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Kentucky: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 735
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 73
#2. Washington: 68
#3. Maryland: 61
#4. North Carolina: 45
#5. Ohio: 41

People selling bananas at a street market in Huye

Oscar Espinosa // Shutterstock

#14. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Kentucky: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 79
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 14
#2. North Carolina: 11
#3. South Carolina: 10
#4. Kentucky: 8
#5. Illinois: 6

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia

Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#16. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Kentucky: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 685
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 59
#3. Texas: 54
#4. New York: 49
#5. Washington: 46

A panoramic view of Minsk, Belarus.

karp5 // Shutterstock

#17. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Kentucky: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 178
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 50
#2. California: 35
#3. Massachusetts: 20
#4. Minnesota: 16
#5. New York: 14

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

W_NAMKET // Shutterstock

#17. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Kentucky: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 481
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 63
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 30

An aerial view of El Salvador.

Canva

#19. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Kentucky: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 691
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 84
#2. Texas: 80
#3. Maryland: 76
#4. Virginia: 55
#5. North Carolina: 53

People walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua

Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#20. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Kentucky: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 786
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 151
#2. California: 60
#3. Texas: 48
#4. Minnesota: 44
#5. North Carolina: 40

Burundian people gather at an outside market

Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock

#21. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Kentucky: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 217
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 32
#2. New York: 29
#3. Arizona: 28
#4. Pennsylvania: 14
#5. Maryland: 13

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.