Published on: 2026-06-11
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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The number of people forced to leave their homes has decreased for the first time in the last decade. However, the scale of forced displacement remains extremely high: in 2025, 5.4 million people were forced to seek refuge outside their countries due to conflicts and persecution. This is stated in a new report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Presenting the annual report on global trends, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Báraam Sale, noted that the scale of forced displacement remains unacceptably high.
At the same time, the rates of return home have increased significantly. Last year, 14.7 million people returned to their places of permanent residence, including 4.4 million refugees and 10.3 million internally displaced persons. A particularly significant increase in the number of returns was recorded in Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria.
According to the FSB, the number of returning refugees has become the second largest in the entire 60-year history of observations. However, many people returned not of their own free will, butunder pressure and in extremely unstable conditions.
As a result, the total number of refugees worldwide decreased by three percent over the year – to 41.6 million people.
In the trap of exile
About 70 percent of refugees continue to live in conditions of prolonged exile, often below the poverty line. At the same time, almost as many – 68 percent – reside in countries with low and middle income levels.
“For too many refugees, displacement saves lives but itself becomes a sentence,” Barham Salih stated.
According to him, dependence on humanitarian aid does not give people the opportunity to independently build their future.
“We need a change of course that will allow us to restore hope and open up new opportunities for people fleeing war and persecution,” emphasized the High Commissioner.
Purpose of UVKB
The UN agency aims to more than halve the number of refugees living in situations of prolonged displacement and dependence on humanitarian aid by 2035. The agency proposes expanding possibilities for voluntary repatriation, resettlement in a third country, obtaining humanitarian visas, as well as promoting the financial self-sufficiency of refugees.
To achieve the set goal, joint efforts of governments, humanitarian and international organizations, the private sector, and civil society are necessary. The task is to help refugees gain economic independence while ensuring guarantees of asylum and protection. The UNHCR calls for creating conditions under which the earnings of refugees will allow them to live above the official poverty line in the host country.
At the same time, according to Sale, voluntary return should remain the main long-term solution to the problem. Resolving a number of the largest contemporary conflicts would allow millions to return home safely and under dignified conditions.
From assistance to independence
Another important direction is the inclusion of refugees in national education systems, healthcare, financial services, and labor markets.
At UVKB, it is believed that this will allow people to receive dividends and contribute to the development of the host countries. However, to achieve this goal, additional investments and government support, which already carry a significant burden, are necessary.
The regional commissioner also called to expand resettlement programs for the most vulnerable refugees, family reunification, provision of work permits, and educational grants.
According to the report, by 2025 the number of people arriving in third countries under resettlement and sponsorship support programs will have decreased by more than half and amounted to only 81.8 thousand people.
Main crises
More than 70 percent of refugees and other persons in need of international protection come from six countries: Afghanistan, Venezuela, Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, and South Sudan.
The largest host countries in 2025 are Colombia (2.8 million people), Germany (2.7 million), Turkey (2.4 million), Uganda (1.9 million), Iran (1.7 million), Chad (1.5 million), and Pakistan (1.3 million).
The report separately notes that by the end of 2025, there were 68.6 million internally displaced persons worldwide – seven percent fewer than the previous year. The largest crisis situation in the worldremained Sudan, where 9.1 million people were relocated within the country.
In addition, the war in the Middle East, which began in February 2026, has led to the displacement of, according to estimates, one million people in Lebanon and 3.2 million people in Iran.
According to UNHCR data, by the end of 2025 there were also approximately 4.5 million stateless persons worldwide – three percent more than the previous year. At the same time, almost 46 thousand people in 24 countries were able to obtain documents and rid themselves of stateless status.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It is an exact report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.