Global Trends
Hadigul is carrying his younger sisters, Sabria and Freshta, as they travel together after recently returning to Afghanistan. Despite the hardships they’ve faced, the close-knit family shows resilience and strength as they move forward.
Global Trends
Hadigul is carrying his younger sisters, Sabria and Freshta, as they travel together after recently returning to Afghanistan. Despite the hardships they’ve faced, the close-knit family shows resilience and strength as they move forward.
At the end of 2025, there were 41.6 million refugees globally, including refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, people in a refugee-like situation, other people in need of international protection and Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate, as well as 9 million asylum-seekers pending a decision on their asylum claims. In addition, there were 68.7 million people displaced within their own country due to conflict or violence.
The global number of refugees fell during 2025 with a decrease of 3 per cent compared to the end of 2024. This change reflects a sharp increase in the returns of refugees, mostly to Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan. The number of IDPs also decreased due to the returns of IDPs primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Syria. However, many of the returns occurred under adverse circumstances and the reintegration conditions remain extremely challenging.
One in every 70 people, or 1.4 per cent of the entire world’s population, is now forcibly displaced
At the end of 2025, 41.6 million people were refugees.
5.4 million people were forced to flee and seek safety in other countries during 2025.
7 in 10 refugees originate from just six countries.
“For too many refugees, displacement starts as a lifeline but lasts a lifetime. Humanitarian aid saves lives, but it is not the end point and does not enable refugees to become active agents in control of their futures. We need a paradigm shift that creates a new sense of hope and opportunity for people fleeing war and persecution."
People forcibly displaced worldwide | 2016 – 2025
Key displacement situations in 2025
Sudan
Libya. Asma, an asylum-seeker from the Sudan, smiles with her baby girl, before boarding an evacuation flight to Rwanda through the Emergency Transit Mechanism.
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Sudan
As the conflict in Sudan enters its fourth year, the number of refugees from Sudan grew to 2.8 million by the end of 2025, an increase of 35 per cent from the previous year. Sudan remains the largest internal displacement crisis globally with 9.1 million people displaced within the country at the end of 2025.
Displaced Sudanese refugees and IDPs started to return to relatively safe areas where fighting has subsided. However, they face significant constraints due to the lack of functioning basic services, degraded infrastructure, damaged houses and extremely limited economic opportunities.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jacqueline, 66, is a mother of four is displaced in the Beni region in the east of country, which continues to be marked by chronic insecurity due to clashes between armed groups.
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Democratic Republic of the Congo
Due to the deteriorating security situation and ongoing conflict in the eastern provinces, there were 3.9 million newly displaced people during the year in the country. Waves of displacements and returns occurred, mostly in South Kivu and North Kivu.
Nearly 3.6 million IDPs returned to their places of origin due to IDP settlements around Goma being forced to close by the non-state armed group M23 after they took control of the city and surrounding areas. Returnees faced severe protection risks, including gender-based violence, forced recruitment, extortion and exploitation. Many returned to areas of origin still marred by active conflict or relocated to other areas with limited or no humanitarian aid.
Syria
Syrian Arab Republic. Rabab stands in her destroyed Al Tadamon neighbourhood of Damascus, after returning home from a decade of displacement in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan.
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Syria
Syria has been one of the largest forced displacement situations for more than a decade. At the end of 2025, the total number of refugees stood at 4.9 million.
During 2025, despite continued insecurity and limited livelihood prospects, around 1.3 million Syrians returned from abroad following the fall of the Assad Government. While many returnees are hopeful, they face substantial challenges in rebuilding their lives, and socio-economic conditions remain extremely fragile.
Syria remains one of the largest humanitarian emergencies in the world. In 2026, some 15.6 million people - over six in ten of the 25.6 million inhabitants – require humanitarian assistance.
Afghanistan
Ahmad, 15, and his younger brother Sahil, 12, are waiting at the Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan with their family, after returning from Pakistan.
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Afghanistan
At the end of 2025, there were some 3.7 million Afghan refugees or other people in need of international protection, a decrease of 36 per cent from the previous year. Four in five are hosted in two countries: the Islamic Republic of Iran (1.6 million) and Pakistan (1.3 million).
Around 2.9 million Afghans returned, with most returns involuntary in nature due to changes in the policies of host countries. They face significant challenges given the extremely limited infrastructure, resources and economic opportunities in Afghanistan. Access to education for returnee children is more limited than for those Afghans that remained in their country, particularly for girls.
Refugees
The global refugee population declined slightly by 3 per cent to reach 35.6 million at the end of the year. This includes 28.5 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, including people in a refugee-like situation and 7.2 million other people in need of international protection. In addition, 6 million were Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate.
Seven in ten refugees under UNHCR's mandate and other people in need of international protection originate from just six countries: Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Most people fleeing conflict and persecution remain near their country of origin. At the end of 2025, 65 per cent of refugees were hosted in neighbouring countries, consistent with previous years. Low- and middle-income countries continue to host the majority of the world’s refugees, hosting 68 per cent of refugees and other people in need of international protection.
Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Uganda, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chad and Pakistan hosted the largest populations of refugees and other people in need of international protection.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF REFUGEES ARE CHILDREN?
Children account for 39% of refugees.
HOW MANY REFUGEES RETURNED HOME?
In 2025, nearly 4.4 million refugees returned home.
WHERE DO MOST REFUGEES LIVE?
65% of refugees are hosted by neighbouring countries.
INSIGHT
Reduce aid dependency and expand solutions: the High Commissioner's 50 by 35 vision
Long-term displacement is now a defining feature of the global refugee landscape, with most refugees remaining in host countries for extended periods. In this context, advancing self-reliance and durable solutions, alongside continued protection and targeted humanitarian support, is essential.
UNHCR aims to support States and partners in halving, by 2035, the number of refugees and other people in need of international protection in protracted displacement who are unable to meet their basic needs without external support.
The focus is to expand access to solutions and opportunities for self-reliance such as access to work opportunities, national education, health, and social protection systems, enabling refugees to live in dignity and security, realise their potential and move beyond prolonged need.
Going forwards, earlier inclusion, stronger self-reliance, upstream political efforts to prevent and reduce displacement, and sustained progress toward solutions over time will be core priorities.
Pictured: In Kigeme refugee camp in Rwanda, Eric, a Congolese refugee student in secondary school continues his studies despite limited opportunities.
Internally displaced people
Most people who are forced to flee never cross an international border, remaining displaced within their own countries. Known as internally displaced people, or IDPs, they account for 58 per cent of all forcibly displaced people. At the end of 2025, 68.7 million people remained internally displaced due to conflict and violence, a 7 per cent decrease from the end of 2024.
Sudan remains the largest internal displacement globally with 9.1 million people still displaced within the country at the end of the year.
At the end of 2025, 68.7 million people remained internally displaced within their own country.
46% of IDPs are displaced within just five countries: Sudan, Colombia, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.
In 2025, UNHCR reported on internal displacement situations in 40 countries.
Solutions
In 2025, 14.7 million people returned to their areas or countries of origin, including nearly 4.4 million refugees and 10.3 million IDPs, representing a 49 per cent increase compared to 2024. Refugee returns were the second highest since UNHCR first reported return statistics in 1965.
92 per cent of all returns occurred in just seven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.6 million), Sudan (3.5 million), Syria (3.3 million), Afghanistan (2 million), Ukraine (718,300) and Myanmar (415,200).
According to official government data, 81,800 refugees were resettled or arrived via sponsorship pathways. A further 93,500 refugees were naturalized or granted permanent residency during the year.
INSIGHT
Refugee returns under adverse circumstances and/or to fragile contexts
Most refugees have a strong desire to return and rebuild their lives in their home country given adequate safety and stability.
However, most returns in 2025 occurred under adverse circumstances or to extremely fragile contexts. Afghan refugees were often compelled to return due to changes in the policies in their host countries, while Congolese IDPs had no choice but to leave following the forced closure of settlements. Syrian and Sudanese refugees and IDPs returned despite insecurity, inadequate basic services and limited livelihood opportunities.
Such returns are unlikely to be sustainable without critical investment to support reintegration, helping to promote development in countries deeply scarred by conflict. Investment is also required in countries of asylum to help refugees support themselves and their families, as well as contribute to their country of asylum, until the conditions in their country of origin are conducive to their return.
Most refugees hope to return. Investment is urgently needed.
Download the report and annexes
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Global Trends 2025
UNHCR's Global Trends report presents the latest numbers of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons worldwide.
Download the Global Trends report
Annexes and raw data
About the UNHCR Global Trends and Mid-Year Trends reports
UNHCR releases two flagship statistical reports on global forced displacement each year, the Global Trends report and the Mid-Year Trends report. The Global Trends report, released annually in June, analyses changes and trends in forcibly displaced populations in the previous calendar year (from 1 January to 31 December). It provides key statistics on the global numbers of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and stateless people, as well as their main host countries and countries of origin.
In October each year, the Mid-Year Trends report is released to provide updated figures and analysis for the initial six months of the current year (from 1 January to 30 June). These figures are preliminary, and the final data is included in the subsequent Global Trends report.
