One in 70 people worldwide is forcibly displaced: UNHCR

At least 117.8 million people, or one in 70 individuals worldwide, remain forcibly displaced, according to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today.

For the first time in 10 years, forced displacement has declined – a shift driven by large-scale returns of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) from the world’s biggest displacement crises.

Despite a roughly 4 percent decrease in the number of displaced people in 2025, this progress has been overshadowed by Lebanon’s fast-growing displacement crisis. Since the US-Israel war on Iran began in late March 2026, Israeli attacks have forcibly displaced more than one million, with a further 3.2 million internally displaced in Iran.

Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of all refugees came from just seven countries:

Under international law, refugees are people who are forced to flee their home countries to escape persecution or a serious threat to their life, physical integrity or freedom.

More than one-third of the world’s refugees live in just seven countries.

Some 65 percent of refugees and other people in need of international protection lived in countries neighbouring their countries of origin.

Nearly all refugees in Iran and Pakistan are Afghans, while most refugees in Turkiye are Syrians.