UNHCR Reports on Global Displacement
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released its Annual Global Trends Report, revealing that a staggering 132.2 million people have been forced from their homes worldwide due to “persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events that seriously hinder the public order.”
Interestingly, while the report highlights that the global displaced population has “almost doubled over the past decade,” it also notes a slight drop in the rate of increase for 2024. For the first half of 2025, the total number of refugees decreased a bit to 121.1 million.
“We’ve observed some hopeful signs in the past six months,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, mentioning the return of Syrian refugees as a positive development amid what has been described as the worst displacement crisis in the last ten years.
The report anticipates that by the end of this year, around 1.5 million Syrian refugees living abroad, alongside 2 million internally displaced Syrians, may return home. Remarkably, it has been over 20 years since we’ve seen refugee returns at such elevated levels, with Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, and Ukraine contributing the most to this trend.
In the last year, a notable number of refugees—188,800—have resettled in third countries, marking a significant achievement. Also, nearly 88,900 refugees gained citizenship or permanent residency in their host nations throughout 2024.
Conversely, regions like Myanmar, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and, of course, Ukraine and Gaza, are home to some of the most severe conflicts today. In fact, Sudan currently has more displaced individuals than Syria.
The UNHCR report suggests that the future, particularly in 2025, heavily hinges on the dynamics of these ongoing conflicts.
“Active fighting has notably decreased in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s rise to power in 2021. However, widespread poverty and hunger persist, alongside deteriorating infrastructure and services, with increasing restrictions on civil liberties, especially for women and girls,” the report indicates.
Moreover, the scale of returns has intensified Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, further straining limited resources and hindering a dignified reintegration process for returning refugees.
It’s also important to note that the refugee crisis isn’t solely driven by human conflict; natural disasters play a significant role too. For instance, an earthquake in Myanmar this past April illustrates this well. Even before the disaster struck, conflict had already displaced more than three million individuals.
Some of the most urgent displacement crises involve internally displaced people (IDPs), such as those in Haiti, where the number of individuals displaced internally due to “gang violence and political instability” has surged threefold since 2023.
UNHCR has raised alarms over funding cuts, warning that these could severely impede the ability to address forced evacuation situations globally and create conditions conducive to safety and dignity for those affected.
“Insufficient funding means inadequate food aid and basic housing support for displaced individuals. Protective services—which include safe spaces for refugee women and girls who are at risk of violence—are likely to be cut,” the agency stated.
“We are in an era of significant volatility in international relations, and modern warfare paints a grim picture characterized by deep human suffering. It’s crucial that we double our efforts to promote peace and seek lasting solutions for refugees and others impacted,” Grandi concluded.
