Geneva: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Thursday that the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has reached 122.1 million as of April 2025, due to wars and other forms of violence. The agency also reported that 9.8 million forcibly displaced individuals returned to their homes over the past year, including 1.6 million refugees - the highest number of refugee returns in more than two decades.
According to Qatar News Agency, presenting the agency's annual report, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi stated that by the end of last year, the global number of forcibly displaced persons had risen to a record 123.2 million, including 73.5 million internally displaced persons and 31 million refugees.
Grandi warned that the trajectory of major global conflicts will determine whether displacement figures will continue to rise. He stated that the world is living through a period of profound volatility in international relations, in which modern warfare creates fragile, devastating landscapes defined by acute human suffering.
He called for intensified efforts to pursue peace and develop durable solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes, highlighting that conflict remains the primary driver of displacement - as seen in Sudan, Myanmar, and Ukraine.
Grandi also noted that around half a million Syrians returned to their homes between December 2024 and May 2025, while approximately 1.2 million internally displaced persons returned to their areas of origin since late November. The UNHCR anticipates that up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees abroad and 2 million internally displaced persons could return by the end of this year.
He also emphasized that Sudan currently hosts the highest number of forcibly displaced individuals at 14.3 million, followed by Syria with 13.5 million, Afghanistan with 10.3 million, and Ukraine with 8.8 million. Millions more remain displaced in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.
The UN also highlighted the severe financial constraints it is facing due to recent funding cuts, warning that these limitations are hampering its ability to respond effectively to displacement crises and to ensure safe and dignified returns for refugees and internally displaced persons.