Jordan says hosting Syrian refugees has cost $10 billion

Authorities in Jordan estimate at more than $10 billion the cost of hosting thousands of refugees displaced from neighboring Syria since the civil war broke out there in 2011.

The UN says that some 650,000 Syrian refugees are currently being housed in Jordan, but the government puts the figure far higher at around 1.3 million people.

In a statement released on social media, the foreign ministry says “more than $10.3 billion” (8.7 billion euros) had been spent on putting up the refugees.

That figure covered additional expenses in sectors including health, education and employment, and also extra money spent on public services and subsidised food, it says.

Jordan, which shares a 370 kilometer (230 mile) border with Syria, estimates that almost $1.7 billion will be needed to cover the refugees this year.

— AFP