GENEVA - Unrests and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East in 2011 have made more than 750,000 people worldwide refugees, United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees Antonio Guterres said here on Wednesday.

Speaking to ministers and government representatives at the ministerial level intergovernmental meeting in Geneva, Guterres warned of a deteriorating global refugee situation. The number of refugees worldwide already stood at a 15-year high at the end of 2010, with 43.7 million people uprooted by conflicts and persecution.

"Recent events indicate that this number is likely to rise again by the end of the year," Guterres said.

The ministerial meeting, the biggest ever in the history of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), is held on Thursday and Friday.

It has gathered ministers from more than 70 nations to address refugee issues and commemorating the 60th anniversary of the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 50th anniversary of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.