JUBA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan is hosting 661,529 refugees and asylum-seekers in 31 locations nationwide, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In a statement released Friday, the UN refugee agency said the total includes 657,479 registered refugees and 4,050 asylum-seekers.
Sudanese refugees make up the vast majority of the population, accounting for 95 percent, followed by refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at 2 percent.
The remaining refugees include those from Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, and other nationalities.
"In response to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the government of South Sudan continues to grant prima facie refugee status to those fleeing the country," the UNHCR said.
Among the refugees, females aged 0-59 make up 49 percent of the population, while women and children together account for 75 percent, according to the agency.
According to the UNHCR, the smaller asylum-seeker population has a distinct profile, dominated by nationals from Eritrea and Ethiopia, who each represent 38 percent of the group.
Burundians make up the next largest group at 11 percent, followed by Ugandans, Somalis, and other nationalities.
South Sudan remains central to one of the region's largest displacement crises, with more than 2.3 million South Sudanese living as refugees in neighboring countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan, according to the UNHCR. ■
