More than 113,500 people in all
UNHCR says it helped resettle more than 113,500 Bhutanese refugees to eight countries between 2007 and 2016, in one of the largest group resettlement programmes in the world.
Where Bhutanese refugees resettled.
The group resettlement program created new communities across eight countries. The figures below are the country breakdown reported by UNHCR when the program reached 100,000 resettled people in November 2015.
Milestone reached · November 2015
100,000
Bhutanese refugees resettled from Nepal across eight countries by this milestone.
The program continued after this snapshot.
UNHCR later reported that more than 113,500 Bhutanese refugees had been resettled between 2007 and 2016. The 2015 country figures below are not the final total by destination.
UNHCR Nepal: program total →Country breakdown at the 100,000 milestone
UNHCR figures · November 2015United States84,819 people
Canada6,500 people
Australia5,554 people
New Zealand1,002 people
Denmark874 people
Norway566 people
United Kingdom358 people
Netherlands327 people
Source: UNHCR, “Resettlement of Bhutanese refugees surpasses 100,000 mark,” 19 November 2015. The listed counts add up to 100,000. Values are a dated snapshot, not current diaspora population estimates.
Counts after the milestone
UNHCR and IOM figures · 2016–201895,758 people to the United States
IOM says that from 2007 to February 2018 its centre in Damak helped 95,758 Bhutanese refugees from eastern Nepal resettle in the United States.
February 2017, country by country
The Himalayan Times published these figures from UNHCR Nepal in February 2017: United States 92,323; Canada 6,773; Australia 6,204; New Zealand 1,075; Denmark 875; Norway 570; United Kingdom 358; Netherlands 329.
People still in Nepal
Not everyone left. In November 2026 The Kathmandu Post reported that local authorities count 6,365 Bhutanese refugees still living in Nepal, in Beldangi in Jhapa and Sanischare in Morang.
How UNHCR and IOM helped people resettle
- Countries offered places. In October 2006 the United States said it was willing to resettle up to 60,000 Bhutanese refugees. Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway joined it in a core group of countries, and the United Kingdom also received refugees. In 2007 the Government of Nepal agreed to resettlement.
- UNHCR informed people and referred their names. UNHCR held information sessions and counselling in the camps. It interviewed the refugees who said they wanted to resettle and referred their names to the resettlement countries. By March 2008 some 25,000 refugees had registered and UNHCR had sent more than 12,000 names.
- Each country decided whom it accepted. For the United States, a centre run by IOM in Damak received cases from UNHCR, interviewed and counselled refugees, and supported the United States officers who made the decisions.
- IOM prepared people for the journey. IOM opened its office in Damak in December 2007. It carried out health checks and gave cultural orientation courses about the new country; refugees approved for the United States had five days of them. Exit permits were arranged with the Government of Nepal at the IOM office in Damak.
- IOM organized the travel. By December 2009 IOM was organizing about 1,500 departures every month: a charter flight from eastern Nepal to Kathmandu, and then commercial flights to the new country.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, 2007 report · Voice of America, 22 May 2007 · WFP operation history · UN News, 25 March 2008 · UN News, 8 September 2009 · UN News, 13 December 2010 · IOM, 10 December 2009 · IOM Nepal
Milestones
- March 2008. The first families leave the camps. The first refugees arrive in New Zealand, and a group of more than 100 people leaves for the United States.
- December 2008. The first group, 24 people, arrives in Canada.
- December 2009. 25,000 people have been resettled.
- August 2011. 50,000 people have been resettled.
- November 2015. 100,000 people have been resettled. Two camps remain, with fewer than 18,000 people.
- December 2016. UNHCR stops sending new cases to the resettlement countries.
Sources: BBC report, 9 March 2008 · Radio New Zealand, 19 March 2008 · UN News, 25 March 2008 · Government of Canada, December 2008 · IOM, 10 December 2009 · IOM, August 2011 · UNHCR, 19 November 2015 · The Kathmandu Post, 19 November 2017
Important: resettlement is not a guaranteed service.
UNHCR’s global guidance says resettlement places are limited, refugees cannot apply directly for resettlement, and final admission decisions are made by receiving-country governments. Beware of anyone charging money or promising a place. This information is general and does not assess any individual case. Read UNHCR guidance.
Data is historical and refers to the 2007–2016 group resettlement program. It should not be read as a current camp population count.
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