What is the refugee Olympic team? Meet the 36 athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Games

Most athletes at the Olympics are representing a country, but some don't have that opportunity.

The refugee population around the world has increased over the last decade as people are displaced in foreign countries to avoid persecution and crisis in their homeland. To help foster change at the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee established an Olympic refugee team.

The team made its debut in 2016 at the Rio Olympics, appeared at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and will be at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It's the first of its kind and continues to give a few dozen refugees a chance to compete.

Here's all there is to know about the refugee Olympic team.

What is the refugee Olympic team?

The IOC Refugee Olympic team is an official team competing at the Olympics comprised of 36 refugees.

The team was created in 2016 as a way to give refugees displaced around the world an opportunity to compete at the Olympics. While it's not representing a country, it gives the same chance to win a medal in respective events.

IOC President Thomas Bach wanted to "send a message of hope for all refugees" when he announced the creation of the team in 2016.

"By welcoming the team of Refugee Olympic Athletes to the Olympic Games Rio 2016, we want to send a message of hope for all refugees in our world. Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic Anthem. They will have a home together with all the other 11,000 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees in the Olympic Village."

The refugee Olympic team has tripled in size since 2016. The inaugural roster had just 10 people for three sports. The 2020 squad had 29 people in 12 sports. The 2024 group is the largest since with 36 athletes in 14 sports.

"This will be a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis," Bach said. "It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society."

How many people are on the refugee team?

There are 36 members of the 2024 IOC Refugee Olympics team. It's the third Olympics that they are competing in and have grown in size each competition since 2016.

The 2016 refugee Olympic team had just 10 members, while the 2020 team had 29.

What sports will the refugee team compete in?

The refugee team will compete in 14 different sports. Some events have as many as seven athletes from the team, while canoe slalom has just one.

IOC Refugee Olympics team roster