UNHCR Reports Highest Displacement Figures Yet
For the first time, Sudan topped the list of largest displacement crises globally, with 14.3 million people forced from their homes, surpassing Syria’s 13.5 million, followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The number of people forcibly displaced around the world has reached an unprecedented 122.1 million, according to the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) annual Global Trends Report released Thursday. The latest figures mark a continuation of a ten-year trend of rising global displacement, driven by persistent and escalating conflicts in countries such as Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine.
The report highlights a sharp increase in internal displacement, with 6.3 million more people uprooted within their own countries in 2024, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to 73.5 million. Refugees who fled across borders stood at 42.7 million at the end of April 2025.
For the first time, Sudan topped the list of largest displacement crises globally, with 14.3 million people forced from their homes, surpassing Syria’s 13.5 million, followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).
Despite the growing scale of displacement, the report challenges common misconceptions—particularly in wealthy nations- about destinations for refugees. The UNHCR emphasized that 67 percent of refugees find safety in neighboring countries, and that low- and middle-income countries host 73 percent of the world’s refugee population. Furthermore, the vast majority—60 percent of forcibly displaced people remain within their national borders.
Yet, amid the worsening global crisis, the report offered a rare source of optimism: nearly 10 million displaced people were able to return home in 2024. This includes 1.6 million refugees, the highest number of refugees returns in more than two decades, and 8.2 million internally displaced persons, the second-highest figure ever recorded.
In one of the most notable developments, nearly two million Syrians returned to their homeland in the past year after spending more than a decade in displacement.
“These returns offer a powerful reminder that solutions are possible, even in the most protracted situations,” the UNHCR noted, while calling for renewed international efforts to end conflicts and create conditions for safe, voluntary, and dignified returns.
As the global displacement crisis deepens, the UN Refugee Agency continues to urge the international community to prioritize conflict resolution, invest in host communities, and uphold the rights and dignity of those forced to flee.
