Syria is now "the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era" with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes.
The majority of refugees have fled to countries neighbouring Syria, with 1.14 million now seeking shelter in Lebanon.
More than 190,000 have been killed in Syria's three-year civil war.
Opposition groups in Syria have been fighting forces loyal to
President Bashar al-Assad since his government suppressed protests
against his rule in March 2011.
The situation has been worsened in recent months by the
formation and advance of the Islamic State group, which now controls
large swathes of Syria and Iraq.
'Exhausted and scared'
The UNHCR says one in every eight Syrians has fled across the
border and a further 6.5 million are displaced within Syria - more than
half of them children.
Families arriving at refugee camps in neighbouring countries
are exhausted and scared, with some having spent a year or more fleeing
from village to village inside Syria.
The UN agency says the journey out of Syria is also becoming tougher, with many people forced to pay bribes to armed gangs.
Where Syrian refugees are
1,175,504 in Lebanon
832,508 in Turkey
613,252 in Jordan
215,369 in Iraq
139,090 in Egypt
23,367 in North Africa
6.5 million others are displaced within Syria
In addition to the registered refugees, Syria's neighbours estimate
that hundreds of thousands more Syrians have sought sanctuary in their
countries - causing enormous strain.
"The Syrian crisis has become the biggest humanitarian
emergency of our era, yet the world is failing to meet the needs of
refugees and the countries hosting them," said Antonio Guterres, the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees.
"The response to the Syrian crisis has been generous, but the bitter truth is that it falls far short of what's needed."
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