Population figures
Total country population
1,425,178,782
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
310
Asylum-seekers:
616
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
0
Country context
China is situated in East Asia, sharing land boundaries with Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam, and boasting an extensive Pacific coastline.
China, having signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol in 1982, does not have national asylum laws but provides an avenue for individuals to seek asylum through UNHCR in Beijing. Refugees and asylum-seekers can apply for protection with by UNHCR. In 2023, UNHCR began issuing ID cards to refugees and asylum-seekers, replacing the previous paper-based certificates, which have been recognized by the government, though some difficulties persist in terms of police registration and the recognition of expired documents.
...Refugee and asylum seeker communities in mainland China are predominantly accommodated in urban centers without dedicated camps or settlements. Asylum-seekers in mainland China face significant restrictions, including the inability to access formal employment or government-provided social services. They can access primary healthcare in public but are not included in China’s medical insurance system. Efforts to improve education access for refugee children in some provinces allowed them to attend primary and lower secondary schools, although barriers such as language and school registration challenges persist.
In Hong Kong (HKSAR), asylum claims are assessed under the Unified Screening Mechanism (USM), introduced in 2014. Claimants who are awaiting decisions are issued a Recognizance Document (RD), which grants conditional release and access to humanitarian assistance, including shelter and subsistence support. While there are provisions for temporary work permission for some claimants, they generally do not have access to the same rights as residents, Macao (Macao SAR) similarly provides asylum-seekers with temporary status and access to basic services like shelter, medical care, and education, although challenges in the registration process remain.
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