Where refugees in South Dakota are arriving from
During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In April 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. In Myanmar, state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya people has displaced nearly 2 million people internally. Another million are in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.
Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in South Dakota in April 2024.
April refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in April
To South Dakota:
#1. Eritrea: 16
#2. Myanmar: 6
#2. Somalia: 6
#2. Venezuela: 6
#5. Congo: 5
#6. Central African Republic: 3
#7. Nicaragua: 2
#8. Guatemala: 1
#8. Republic of South Sudan: 1
#8. Sudan: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 1,548
#2. Afghanistan: 815
#3. Myanmar: 601
#4. Somalia: 548
#5. Venezuela: 449
States that accepted the most refugees in April:
#1. Texas: 620
#2. California: 414
#3. New York: 360
#4. Pennsylvania: 355
#5. lowa: 339
Read on to see the countries that South Dakota has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To South Dakota: 68
To the U.S. as a whole: 13,322
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,213
#2. Kentucky: 1,106
#3. Arizona: 933
#4. New York: 829
#5. Ohio: 826
#2. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To South Dakota: 27
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,225
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 98
#2. Texas: 92
#3. Pennsylvania: 89
#4. Missouri: 73
#5. Ohio: 71
#3. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To South Dakota: 23
To the U.S. as a whole: 4,265
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 497
#2. Illinois: 490
#3. New York: 396
#4. Georgia: 295
#5. Wisconsin: 258
#4. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To South Dakota: 22
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,259
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 139
#2. Washington: 120
#3. lowa: 75
#4. North Carolina: 74
#5. Ohio: 73
#4. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To South Dakota: 22
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,148
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 670
#2. Ohio: 157
#3. Arizona: 113
#4. New York: 110
#5. Missouri: 102
#6. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To South Dakota: 13
To the U.S. as a whole: 665
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 75
#2. Texas: 72
#3. Michigan: 55
#4. Georgia: 43
#5. Pennsylvania: 38
#7. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To South Dakota: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,474
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 328
#2. Texas: 240
#3. North Carolina: 167
#4. Florida: 161
#5. New York: 113
#7. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To South Dakota: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,516
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 668
#2. Texas: 489
#3. Illinois: 210
#4. Georgia: 185
#5. New Jersey: 131
#9. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To South Dakota: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 7,771
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,624
#2. Texas: 803
#3. Virginia: 775
#4. Washington: 519
#5. Maryland: 329
#9. Republic of Congo
Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To South Dakota: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 311
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 29
#1. Pennsylvania: 29
#3. South Carolina: 24
#3. Illinois: 24
#5. Massachusetts: 21
#9. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To South Dakota: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,033
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 377
#2. California: 166
#3. New York: 57
#4. Florida: 51
#5. Ohio: 48
#12. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To South Dakota: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 425
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 54
#2. Arizona: 48
#3. New York: 41
#4. Pennsylvania: 37
#5. Maryland: 23
#12. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To South Dakota: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 289
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 76
#2. Washington: 28
#3. Georgia: 25
#3. Ohio: 25
#5. Texas: 23
#12. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To South Dakota: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 197
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 46
#2. South Carolina: 12
#2. Arizona: 12
#4. Kentucky: 11
#4. Illinois: 11
#15. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To South Dakota: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,078
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 171
#2. California: 92
#3. Texas: 69
#4. Minnesota: 57
#5. North Carolina: 46
#15. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To South Dakota: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 799
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Texas: 86
#2. Nebraska: 70
#3. Colorado: 57
#4. Arizona: 54
#5. Connecticut: 53
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 45 states.
