220,000 Syrian refugees return from Jordan since December 2024 – UNHCR

A general view of the massive U.N.-run Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees, located northeast of the Jordanian capital of Amman, Sept. 19, 2015. – AFP
A general view of the massive U.N.-run Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees, located northeast of the Jordanian capital of Amman, Sept. 19, 2015. – AFP

DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – About 220,000 registered Syrian refugees have voluntarily returned from Jordan to Syria between December 8, 2024, and August 24, 2026, a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official said on Wednesday.

UNHCR spokesperson in Jordan Yousef Taha said that around 45,000 Syrian refugees have returned since the beginning of 2026, with the pace of returns increasing after the end of the school year and as weather conditions improved.

According to UNHCR, 59 percent of the returns involved entire families, while partial family returns accounted for about 41 percent. The average number of weekly returns is around 1,300, with daily peaks ranging between 200 and 344 returnees.

Jordan currently hosts around 375,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR, of whom Syrians account for about 92 percent, or approximately 350,000 people. About 79 percent of Syrian refugees live outside camps in cities and host communities.

By Abdulsalam Khoja