Editing Demographics of Syria (section)

=== Forced displacement ===
{{See also|Refugees of the Syrian Civil War|Internally displaced persons in Syria}}
More than six million refugees left the country during the civil war,<ref name="BBC News 2016">{{cite web | title=Syria: Five years into war, what is left of the country? | website=BBC News | date=15 March 2016 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-841ebc3a-1be9-493b-8800-2c04890e8fc9 | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617173849/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-841ebc3a-1be9-493b-8800-2c04890e8fc9 | archive-date=17 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> of whom over five million are registered as refugees by the [[UNHCR]] as of mid-2019.<ref name="Situations ">{{cite web| title=Situation Syria Regional Refugee Response| website=UNHCR| url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria| access-date=12 June 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611173834/https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria| archive-date=11 June 2019| url-status=live}}</ref> Most of them fled to neighboring countries such as [[Turkey]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/03/11/148327930/syrian-refugees-may-be-wearing-out-turks-welcome |title=Syrian Refugees May Be Wearing Out Turks' Welcome |publisher=NPR |date=11 March 2012 |access-date=10 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402005834/http://www.npr.org/2012/03/11/148327930/syrian-refugees-may-be-wearing-out-turks-welcome |archive-date=2 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17635434 |title=Syria crisis: Turkey refugee surge amid escalation fear |work=BBC News |date=6 April 2012 |access-date=10 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408231033/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17635434 |archive-date=8 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lebanon]], [[Jordan]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/Syria-Refugees-brace-for-more-bloodshed-20120312 |title=Syria: Refugees brace for more bloodshed |work=News24 |date=12 March 2012 |access-date=10 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023184006/http://www.news24.com/World/News/Syria-Refugees-brace-for-more-bloodshed-20120312 |archive-date=23 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Iraq]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/27/c_131434512.htm|title=30 Syrian soldiers flees to Iraq's Kurdish region: official|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131118205329/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/27/c_131434512.htm|archive-date=18 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as European nations like [[Greece]], [[Germany]] and [[Sweden]]. Since 2017, tens of thousands have returned.<ref name="ECFR.EU 2019">{{cite web | title=The displacement dilemma: Should Europe help Syrian refugees return home? | website=ECFR.EU | date=13 March 2019 | url=https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_displacement_dilemma_should_europe_help_syrian_refugees_return_home | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605215302/https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_displacement_dilemma_should_europe_help_syrian_refugees_return_home | archive-date=5 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The war resulted in large-scale displacement in the country. The UNHCR estimates [[Internally displaced persons in Syria|internally displaced people]] (IDPs) at seven million. A further 70,000 people were trapped on the border with Jordan at [[Rukban]] in 2016–18,<ref name="Human Rights Watch 2017">{{cite web | title=World Report 2017: Rights Trends in Syria | website=Human Rights Watch | date=12 January 2017 | url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/syria | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611171554/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/syria | archive-date=11 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Enab Baladi 2018">{{cite web | title=In 15 Days, Healthcare Deterioration Leads to 14 Civilians' Death in al-Rukban camp – Enab Baladi | website=Enab Baladi | date=10 October 2018 | url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2018/10/in-15-days-healthcare-deterioration-leads-to-14-civilians-death-in-al-rukban-camp/ | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330044739/https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2018/10/in-15-days-healthcare-deterioration-leads-to-14-civilians-death-in-al-rukban-camp/ | archive-date=30 March 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> with up to 40,000 still there in 2019.<ref name="Al-Khalidi 2019">{{cite web | last=Al-Khalidi | first=Suleiman | title=Russian 'siege' chokes Syrian camp in shadow of U.S. base | website=U.K. | date=28 April 2019 | url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-camp-idUKKCN1S404T | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508205951/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-camp-idUKKCN1S404T | archive-date=8 May 2019 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

A significant part of the population lives in territory outside government sovereignty. At its peak in 2015, [[ISIL]] ruled over ten million people across Syria and Iraq.<ref name="BBC ISIL maps 2018">{{cite web | title=The war against 'Islamic State' in maps and charts | website=BBC News | date=28 March 2018 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034 | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616195731/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034 | archive-date=16 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), commonly referred to as [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Rojava]], has a population of around two million.<ref name=washingtoninstitute1>{{cite web|author1=Fabrice Balanche|author-link=Fabrice Balanche|title=Sectarianism in Syria's Civil War|page=24|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/SyriaAtlasCOMPLETE-3.pdf|website=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy|access-date=2019-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922063624/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/SyriaAtlasCOMPLETE-3.pdf|archive-date=2018-09-22|url-status=live}}</ref> Areas controlled by the opposition have had a population in the millions. In mid-2017, UN OCHA estimated that around 540,000 persons were trapped in besieged areas as of June 2017, the majority besieged by government forces in [[Siege of Eastern Ghouta|Eastern Ghouta]].<ref name="Human Rights Watch 2018">{{cite web | title=World Report 2018: Rights Trends in Syria | website=Human Rights Watch | date=2 January 2018 | url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/syria | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222103038/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/syria | archive-date=22 December 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> By the time the government retook Ghouta in April 2018, some 140,000 individuals had fled their homes and up to 50,000 were evacuated to Idlib and Aleppo governorates.<ref name="UN News 2018">{{cite web | title=Siege of Syria's eastern Ghouta 'barbaric and medieval', says UN Commission of Inquiry | website=UN News | date=20 June 2018 | url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/06/1012632 | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530192352/https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/06/1012632 | archive-date=30 May 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> The latter [[Idlib demilitarization (2018–present)|rebel areas]] had an estimated population of 3 million (40% of them displaced from defeated rebel areas).<ref name="BBC News 2019">{{cite web | title=Why does the battle for Idlib matter? | website=BBC News | date=4 June 2019 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45403334 | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606061005/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45403334 | archive-date=6 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect 2019">{{cite web | title=Syria : Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect | website=Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect | date=23 March 2019 | url=http://www.globalr2p.org/regions/syria | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602034206/http://www.globalr2p.org/regions/syria | archive-date=2 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Northwestern Syria offensive (April 2019–present)|Fighting in Idlib]] has led to further displacements, of up to 250,000 people, and generating new refugee outflows to neighbouring Turkey.<ref name="TRTWorld NGOs 2019">{{cite web | author=TRTWorld | title=Syria NGOs prepare for 'largest ever' surge in IDPs and refugees | website=Syria NGOs prepare for ‘largest ever’ surge in IDPs and refugees | date=13 May 2019 | url=https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/syria-ngos-prepare-for-largest-ever-surge-in-idps-and-refugees-26602 | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516081648/https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/syria-ngos-prepare-for-largest-ever-surge-in-idps-and-refugees-26602 | archive-date=16 May 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Displacement has led to demographic shifts. One example is the area in the North under control by Kurdish-led and US-backed [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (SDF). Many human rights groups, including [[Amnesty International]]<ref>{{cite news |title= Syria: US ally's razing of villages amounts to war crimes |url= https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/syria-us-allys-razing-of-villages-amounts-to-war-crimes/ |publisher= Amnesty International |date= 13 October 2015 |access-date= 9 June 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151014151034/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/syria-us-allys-razing-of-villages-amounts-to-war-crimes/ |archive-date= 14 October 2015 |url-status= live }}</ref> and international organizations<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: Kurdish militias plan a demographic change in Manbij|url=https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2016/08/14/syria-kurdish-militias-plan-a-demographic-change-in-manbij/|publisher=Middle East Observer|date=14 August 2016|access-date=9 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526223319/https://www.middleeastobserver.org/2016/08/14/syria-kurdish-militias-plan-a-demographic-change-in-manbij/|archive-date=26 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Tal Abyad: Achilles Heel of the Syrian Kurdish Belt|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/tal-abyad-achilles-heel-of-the-syrian-kurdish-belt|publisher=Middle East Observer|date=21 December 2018|access-date=9 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217084951/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/tal-abyad-achilles-heel-of-the-syrian-kurdish-belt|archive-date=17 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> have accused SDF forces of committing ethnic cleansing in Arab areas they were capturing from other war factions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian Kurds accused of ethnic cleansing and killing opponents|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/syrian-kurds-accused-of-ethnic-cleansing-and-killing-opponents/|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=18 May 2016|access-date=9 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617144708/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/18/syrian-kurds-accused-of-ethnic-cleansing-and-killing-opponents/|archive-date=17 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The accusation was repeated on 8 May 2019 by Russia's foreign minister [[Sergey Lavrov]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lavrov: US attempts to resettle Kurds in Arab areas might trigger Syria's breakup|url=http://tass.com/politics/1057531|publisher=Tass Agency|date=8 May 2019|access-date=9 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516023441/http://tass.com/politics/1057531|archive-date=16 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> NGOs and the opposition have also accused the government of using the conflict to affect demographic restructuring.<ref name="FILDH ReliefWeb 2019">{{cite web | author=Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de I'Homme | title=Assad's Syria: how he planned to transform Syria since 2011 - Syrian Arab Republic | website=ReliefWeb | date=15 March 2019 | url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/assad-s-syria-how-he-planned-transform-syria-2011 | access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Arfeh 2019">{{cite web | last=Arfeh | first=Hasan | title=The Institutionalization of Demographic Change in Syria | website=Atlantic Council | date=4 April 2019 | url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/the-institutionalization-of-demographic-change-in-syria | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606005711/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/the-institutionalization-of-demographic-change-in-syria | archive-date=6 June 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Dajani Sheff 2018">{{cite web | last1=Dajani | first1=Mohammed S. | last2=Sheff | first2=Marcus | title=Assad's Law 10: Reshaping Syria's Demographics | website=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy | date=17 September 2018 | url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/assads-law-10-reshaping-syrias-demographics | access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="TRTWorld 2019">{{cite web | author=TRTWorld | title=Bashar al Assad's bet on permanent demographic change in Syria | website=Bashar al Assad’s bet on permanent demographic change in Syria | date=10 April 2019 | url=https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/bashar-al-assad-s-bet-on-permanent-demographic-change-in-syria-25728 | access-date=12 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717095317/https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/bashar-al-assad-s-bet-on-permanent-demographic-change-in-syria-25728 | archive-date=17 July 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>