The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that over 3.2 million Syrians have returned home since Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December 2024, according to a Syria situation crisis regional flash update shared on X by @QalaatAlMudiq between 6:46 PM and 7:16 PM UTC on December 18. UNHCR stated, "#Syria marks a new milestone: some 3 million refugees and displaced people have now returned since the fall of Assad," in the update. A map illustrates the provincial distribution of 1.3 million returnees within Syria, with top host countries of origin being Turkey at 42 percent, Lebanon at 35 percent, and Jordan at 18 percent, as detailed in the report. Many returnees are awaiting improved economic conditions and rebuilding of essential infrastructure, per the UNHCR flash update. This figure builds on prior data, such as UNHCR Lebanon Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing's statement earlier today that 400,000 Syrian refugees returned from Lebanon since Assad's fall.
