( CNN ) -- The number of Syrian refugees could double -- if not triple -- by the end of the year if the crisis continues without change , a U.N. official said Sunday . Since the civil war began two years ago , more than 1 million have fled the country . Read more : The plight of Syria 's refugees . The number of refugees recorded has gone from 3,000 on average each day in December to 8,000 daily in February , Antonio Guterres , the U.N. high commissioner for refugees , said Sunday in Ankara , Turkey . State of Syria : Exodus reaches 1 million ; seesaw battles rage on . `` Now if this escalation goes on -- and nothing happens to solve the problem -- we might have in the end of the year a much larger number of refugees , two or three times ... the present level . '' In December , the U.N. 's Regional Response Plan for Syrian Refugees estimated that 1.1 million displaced Syrians would move to surrounding countries by the end of June . The group now predicts that figure will be exceeded this month . Most flee to surrounding countries , such as Lebanon , Jordan , Turkey , Iraq and Egypt , but they are increasingly going to North Africa and Europe , according to the U.N . The influx of Syrian refugees strains the nearby countries , Guterres said . Jordan 's energy , health and education services are struggling to accommodate them , and Turkey has put $ 600 million into its 17 refugee camps , according to the UNCHR . Not all displaced Syrians register as refugees because of fear of repercussions when they return to their home country , or because they do n't want to accept aid because of pride . Read more : Refugee figures fail to give true picture of Syria crisis . Members of Jordan 's army told CNN 's Nick Paton Walsh that they were doing what they could to help the Syrians , but they were overwhelmed . Rebel fighters who had led their families to a camp in Jordan talked to Walsh . They said they were going back to fight in Daraa , Syria . One boy said there were men in the cities , but most families were fleeing . `` You can now count the people left on your fingers , '' he said . `` Syria is emptying . '' See more : Syrian refugees increasingly unwelcome in Jordan . The unrest in Syria began in March 2011 , when the government of President Bashar al-Assad began a brutal crackdown on demonstrators calling for greater political freedoms . The protest movement eventually devolved into an armed conflict , one that has devastated cities and towns around the country .
More than 1 million people have fled Syria since civil war began , the U.N. says . 8,000 people left each day last month , U.N. official says . Surrounding countries are feeling the strain due to the influx of refugees .