The first annual decline in a decade
At the end of December 2025, an estimated 117.8 million people were forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence, human-rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. UNHCR describes this as the first decline in a decade. The total was about 5.4 million lower than the revised end-2024 figure of 123.2 million, but remained almost three times the 2010 level.
- Forcibly displaced
- 117.8 million
- Refugees
- 41.6 million
- Conflict- and violence-related IDPs
- 68.7 million
- Asylum-seekers
- 9 million
The 41.6 million refugee total includes 28.5 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, about 6 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate, 1.5 million people in refugee-like situations, and 7.2 million other people in need of international protection. Some published population groupings are designed for different analytical purposes, which is why UNHCR's overall total should be used instead of reconstructing it by adding rounded headline figures.
Why a lower total does not automatically mean a safer world
Returns increased sharply in 2025. Nearly 4.4 million refugees returned to their countries of origin and 10.3 million IDPs returned to their areas of origin—a combined 14.7 million, 49% more than in 2024. Large movements involved Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
| Population term | Core meaning | What the label does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Refugee | A person outside their country who meets an applicable refugee or protection definition | That needs have ended after status recognition |
| Asylum-seeker | A person seeking international protection whose claim is pending | That the claim will be accepted or rejected |
| Internally displaced person (IDP) | A person displaced within their own country | That displacement is short or that national protection is effective |
| Returnee | A displaced person recorded as having returned | That return was voluntary, safe, durable or fully reintegrated |
| Stateless person | A person not considered a national by any state under its law | That the person is necessarily displaced |
Most displacement remains close to home
Internally displaced people accounted for 58% of the global forcibly displaced population. Sudan remained the world's largest internal-displacement situation, with 9.1 million people displaced inside the country at year end. Across borders, 65% of refugees and other people in need of international protection lived in a country neighbouring their country of origin.
Low- and middle-income countries hosted 68% of the world's refugees and other people in need of international protection, while least developed countries hosted 26%. These patterns matter for funding: international headlines often focus on arrivals in wealthier states, but much of the day-to-day protection responsibility remains with nearby communities and countries with fewer resources.
New flight continued despite the net decline
During 2025, 5.4 million people fled violence and persecution across an international border. A net year-end decline can coexist with millions of new displacements because the stock changes through new flight, returns, status changes, demographic events and statistical revisions. The global total is a year-end snapshot, not the count of everyone displaced at any time during the year.
How to use the figures without distorting them
- Name the reference date. These figures describe the end of 2025 and were released on 11 June 2026.
- Keep refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs, returnees and stateless people conceptually distinct.
- Do not describe all returns as voluntary or durable without evidence about conditions and protection.
- Use country and situation data for local claims; a global trend cannot establish needs in one settlement.
- Treat the data as provisional where UNHCR marks it provisional and link readers to the underlying dataset.
For HopePassage readers, the most honest conclusion is not that the displacement crisis is over. The data show a welcome numerical decline alongside new flight, protracted displacement and difficult returns. Aid decisions still need current local assessments, protection analysis and direct feedback from affected people.
Frequently asked questions
Why did forced displacement fall in 2025?
The largest numerical driver was a rise in refugee and IDP returns, alongside other changes in the population stock. UNHCR cautions that many returns occurred in adverse conditions.
Are all 117.8 million people refugees?
No. The total includes several populations, especially people displaced within their own countries. Refugees were 41.6 million at year end.
Are climate-displaced people included?
The headline total concerns displacement from persecution, conflict, violence, human-rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. Disaster-displacement statistics use additional datasets and should not be merged without checking definitions.
Does a return end the need for aid?
Not necessarily. Returnees may need documentation, shelter, livelihoods, education, health care, mine-risk support and protection from renewed displacement.
Will these numbers be revised?
They can be. UNHCR states that the data are provisional and subject to change as governments and partners update records and methods.