UNHCR: 123m people displaced globally in 2024 — highest in a decade

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that a record 123.2 million people were displaced globally by the end of 2024, marking the highest number in a decade.

In its latest report, the UN Refugee Agency emphasised the severity of the crisis, characterizing the level of displacement over the past year as

According to the report, 73.5 million people worldwide have been displaced within their own countries, while 42.7 million refugees are living outside their borders.

The report indicated that 73 percent of the subjects are hosted in low- and middle-income countries, while 67 percent are hosted in neighboring countries.

The report indicated that the significant increase in the number of refugees was primarily driven by ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine.

In 2024, it was reported that 9.8 million people returned home, including 1.6 million refugees and 8.2 million internally displaced individuals, primarily from Afghanistan and Syria.

It was noted that the return of 8.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) represents the second-largest single-year total on record; however, ongoing challenges persist for returnees.

“For example, many of the Afghan and Haitian refugees who returned home in the past year were deported from their host countries,” the report states.

The report emphasized that returns must be voluntary, and the dignity and safety of the returnees must be upheld upon their arrival in their area of origin.

Speaking about the report, Filippo Grandi, the High Commissioner for Refugees, stated that the world is “at a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile and harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering.

But Grandi noted that there are some of hope in the report, despite the immediate impact of aid cuts in capitals around the world this year.

“This year, 188,800 refugees were permanently resettled in host countries, the highest number in 40 years,” said the UN refugee chief.