After more than four decades of displacement, Afghan refugees constitute one of the largest protracted refugee situations in the world and one of the biggest displacement crises in modern history. Recent years have seen some Afghan refugees return home, while others remain as refugees outside. Since 2002, nearly 5.3 million Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan under UNHCR’s facilitated Voluntary Repatriation programme. Currently, the Islamic Republics of Iran and Pakistan continue to host over 2 million registered Afghan refugees. On this page you will find updates on UNHCR's work in support Afghan refugees and returnees. Links are also provided below for the individual UNHCR country operation pages for additional information.