One in 70 people worldwide is forcibly displaced: UNHCR

Published 11 June 2026 · world

At least 117.8 million people worldwide remain forcibly displaced due to conflict, violence, human rights abuses and persecution. At least 117.8 million people, or one

At least 117.8 million people worldwide remain forcibly displaced due to conflict, violence, human rights abuses and persecution. 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. Of the 117.3 million forcibly displaced 68.6 million are internally displaced within their own countries due to conflict or other crises. Roughly 28.5 million refugees are under the UNHCR mandate 9 million are asylum seekers – people waiting for a decision while seeking protection in another country due to persecution or fear of harm in their home country 7.2 million people are in need of international protection 6 million are Palestinian refugees under UNRWA’s mandate Where are refugees coming from?

Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of all refugees came from just seven countries Venezuela (6.4 million), Palestine (6 million), Ukraine (5.2 million), Syria (4.9 million), Afghanistan (3.7 million), Sudan (2.8 million), South Sudan (2.4 million). 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. Who hosts the most refugees? More than one-third of the world’s refugees live in just seven countries. Globally, the largest refugee populations are hosted by Colombia (2.8 million), Germany (2.7 million), Turkiye (2.4 million), Uganda (1.9 million), Iran (1.7 million), Chad (1.5 million), Pakistan (1.3 million). 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. The vast majority of refugees in Colombia are from Venezuela, while Germany hosts a large Ukrainian, Syrian and Afghan refugee population. A majority of the refugees in Uganda are from South Sudan; similarly, Sudanese refugees make up the largest displaced group in Chad. The history of global displacement In 1951, the UN established the Refugee Convention to protect the rights of refugees in Europe in the aftermath of World War II.