Turkey, hosts around 4 million refugees, which is more than any other country in the world. Out of these people, 3,650,000 of them are Syrians, making Turkey the host of more than half of all Syrian refugees. Most refugees are granted temporary protected status, as Turkey’s legislation heavily favors granting official refugee status to those of “Turkish Descent and Culture”, so most refugees are granted “temporary protection,” meaning they can temporarily reside in Turkey until resettlement in another country. Under “temporary protection” status, refugees have access to social services, translation services, IDs, travel documents, primary and secondary education, and work permits. Turkey’s first refugee policy was formed when it joined the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

For reference, the U.S. has population of roughly 330 million and a much larger economy than Turkey, who’s population is 82 million. However, since 2011 (the onset of the Syrian civil war), Turkey has accepted more than 3.5 million refugees, while the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees since 1980.