Syria’s civil war has driven almost a third of the entire population from their homes, inflicting the “humanitarian calamity” of the century, the United Nations has said.

The number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries at about two million, while a further 4.3 million people have been displaced within the nation’s borders, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). It said that the fighting has been so intense that the number of refugees has increased almost tenfold in a single year.

“Syria has become the great tragedy of this century – a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history,” Antonio Guterres, head of UNHCR, said yesterday.

According to the UNHCR, there is no sign of the “tragic outflow” of refugees from Syria ending. It said many crossed the border with little more “than the clothes on their backs”.

UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie said: “The world risks being dangerously complacent about the Syrian humanitarian disaster. The tide of human suffering unleashed by the conflict has catastrophic implications. If the situation continues to deteriorate at this rate, the number of refugees will only grow, and some neighbouring countries could be brought to the point of collapse.”

•Photo: Syrrian refugee camp.