Global displacement declines for first time in a decade, but refugee crisis remains severe: UNHCR

The number of people displaced by conflict and persecution worldwide declined in 2025 for the first time in a decade, according to a report released Thursday by the UN refugee agency, though millions continue to face prolonged displacement with limited prospects of rebuilding their lives.

The report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said 5.4 million people were newly displaced last year, bringing the global total of refugees and people in refugee-like situations to 41.6 million, including around 6 million Palestinian refugees.

At the same time, an estimated 14.7 million refugees and internally displaced people returned to their homes in 2025, a 50% increase from the previous year and the second-highest annual total recorded since 1965. Most of these returns occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Myanmar.

However, UNHCR cautioned that many returnees are going back to areas still plagued by insecurity, damaged infrastructure and limited access to essential services, raising questions about the sustainability of their return.

Afghanistan recorded one of the sharpest shifts, with approximately 2.9 million people returning in 2025, including 1.9 million refugees. The surge, largely driven by stricter policies in neighboring Iran and Pakistan, reduced the global Afghan refugee population from 5.8 million to 3.7 million.

Syria also witnessed a significant increase in returns following the collapse of the government of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Around 1.3 million Syrians returned home in 2025, nearly three times the previous year’s figure, reducing the global Syrian refugee population from 6 million to 4.9 million.

Despite the improvement, UNHCR warned that many Syrian returnees continue to face serious challenges, including insecurity, economic hardship, inadequate services and sporadic violence.

The agency also highlighted new displacement crises emerging in 2026. It said around 3.2 million people have been temporarily displaced in Iran since joint US-Israeli strikes launched in late February, while roughly one million people have fled their homes in Lebanon since the conflict escalated in March.

UNHCR has set a goal of halving the number of refugees and displaced people dependent on humanitarian assistance by 2035 through expanded access to education, employment and economic opportunities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries that host the majority of the world’s refugees.

Globally, about 70% of refugees have remained in exile for five years or more, often in countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Türkiye and Iran.

“Asylum and protection are life-saving and not up for debate, but we cannot accept a future in which millions of refugees remain trapped for years or decades without realistic prospects of rebuilding their lives,” said Barham Salih.

The agency said its strategy includes supporting voluntary returns while also helping refugees gain access to education and employment in host countries, enabling them to become more self-reliant and less dependent on aid.