UNHCR says fewer people displaced worldwide in 2025 but long-term refugee crisis persists
Large-scale returns and a sharp drop in resettlement drove the decline, while 41.6 million people remained displaced worldwide, UNHCR said.
- The UNHCR Global Trends Report showed global refugee numbers fell to 41.6 million in 2025, marking the first decline in a decade despite persistently high displacement levels worldwide.
- Returns gathered pace as 14.7 million displaced people went back to their countries of origin in 2025, with sharp increases recorded in Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria driving the overall decline.
- Despite the numbers, UNHCR cautioned that many returned under pressure, facing widespread infrastructure damage, insecurity, and limited access to basic services in their home countries.
- Aiming to halve protracted displacement by 2035, UNHCR High Commissioner Barham Salih announced a shift toward job creation and education opportunities in low- and middle-income countries.
- Displacement in Iran and Lebanon has already shaped global trends as ongoing crises in the Middle East continue to drive new displacement patterns in 2026.
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75 Articles
UNHCR: 1.3 Million Syrians Returned Home in 2025 as Agency Warns of Severe Hardships
About 1.3 million Syrian refugees returned to their country in 2025 following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime on December 8, 2024, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The historic wave of returns contributed to a broader global trend of displaced people going back to their countries of origin. But the UN refugee agency cautioned that many Syrians are returning to extrem…
The number of forcibly displaced people fell last year for the first time in a decade, the United Nations said. An estimated 118 million people, or one in 70 people worldwide, are forcibly displaced.
The number of worldwide refugees has fallen slightly for the first time in ten years.
UN finds refugee numbers have dropped but millions remain trapped
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on Thursday that, for the first time in a decade, global forced displacement decreased in 2025, but the figures remain significantly high, as millions of people continue to endure prolonged exile and live in dire humanitarian conditions without any prospects for rebuilding their lives. According to a report launched by High Commissioner Barham Salih, the number of global refugees fell by three percent in 20…
Data revealed by a new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) show that forced displacement in the world in 2025 fell for the first time in a decade. However, seven out of 10 refugees live in “long displacement.” In detail, the report “Global Trends. Forced displacement in 2025” by the United Nations agency notes that this decline reflects the increase in returns of refugees and displaced persons in some of the world…
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