AMMAN, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Jordan is home to about half a million Iraqi refugees, most of whom fled violence in their country after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, a study released by a research body said on Tuesday. The Oslo-based Norwegian Research Institute (FAFO) said a six-month long survey commissioned by the Jordanian government showed the majority of Iraqi refugees were Sunni Muslims who fled from the capital Baghdad. The largest influx of Iraqis arrived in 2005, according to data provided by Jordanian border authorities. Earlier unofficial estimates of the numbers of Iraqis residing in Jordan were put as high as one million. The study said more than 95 percent of Iraqis interviewed had no plans to return to Iraq before security stabilised and almost one in five were already seeking to emigrate to the West. Aid workers estimate at least 2.2 million Iraqis have fled to other countries, mainly Syria and Jordan. Both these countries have tightened migration rules for Iraqis. Iraq had a pre-war population of about 27 million. U.N. agencies say the refugees are driven by violence, poor services and unemployment. Jordan says its Iraqi refugees cost about $1 billion a year, stretching the resources of a country of just 5.6 million people.
