Canada vs China: Refugees by country of asylum
Canada
269,496 people
in 2024
China
303,405 people
in 2020
Canada rank
27th
China rank
25th
Refugees by country of asylum over time
- Canada
- China
How they compare
China currently reports 303,405 people against 269,496 people in Canada, a difference of 33,909 people.
That makes China's figure about 1.1 times Canada's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 43 shared years of data; in 1966 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 27th and China ranks 25th of 183 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 1 and China in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10,225 people | 970 people | 9,255 people | Canada |
| 1970s | 57,913 people | 250,000 people | 192,087 people | China |
| 1980s | 107,856 people | 276,714 people | 168,858 people | China |
| 1990s | 153,757 people | 289,451 people | 135,694 people | China |
| 2000s | 147,843 people | 299,051 people | 151,207 people | China |
| 2010s | 135,752 people | 307,028 people | 171,276 people | China |
| 2020s | 109,214 people | 303,405 people | 194,191 people | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher refugees by country of asylum, Canada or China?
- China, at 303,405 people against 269,496 people in Canada as of 2020.
- What is the difference in refugees by country of asylum between Canada and China?
- 33,909 people, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and China?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1966 to 2020.
- How do Canada and China rank globally for refugees by country of asylum?
- Canada ranks 27th and China ranks 25th of 183 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNHCR (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Refugees by country of asylum. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
People who fled their country of origin and are in need of international protection. Refugees are those who have already been granted asylum status in the country they moved to. This includes all refugees who live in this country, not just those who arrived that year.