ABSTRACT
Since 1980, one to two million Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans have fled their homes. An estimated 500,000 to 800,000 have crossed international borders, the remainder being displaced within their own countries. As the combined population of the three countries is under 25 million, 5 to 10 percent of their total population—25 percent in El Salvador alone—is either displaced or in exile. Yet only approximately 125,000 Central Americans have been formally recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and by host governments.
