2025 Mid-Year Trends Report
117.3 million people forcibly displaced worldwide
By mid-2025, 117.3 million people around the world remained forcibly displaced due to conflict, persecution, violence, human rights violations, and crises that severely disrupt civilian life. Although the figure remains alarming, it represents a 5% decrease compared to the end of 2024, mainly due to a significant increase in returns in some of today’s largest humanitarian crises.
Returns: a significant but fragile trend
In the first six months of 2025, millions of refugees and internally displaced persons returned to their places of origin, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Ukraine, which together account for 95% of all recorded returns. However, many of these returns have taken place under adverse conditions, with ongoing insecurity and a lack of basic services, raising doubts about their long-term sustainability.
Refugees worldwide
The global number of refugees declined slightly to 42.5 million. This reduction is almost entirely due to the historic increase in returns, with around 2 million people going back to their countries of origin—five times more than in the same period in 2024. Even so, two thirds of refugees come from just five countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela.
The main host countries continue to be Colombia, Iran, Germany, Türkiye, and Uganda.
Internal displacement
Most people forced to flee remain within their own countries. By mid-2025, 67.8 million people were still internally displaced, an 8% decrease compared to the end of 2024. Sudan continues to be the largest internal displacement crisis, with 10 million people displaced within the country. Nearly 5 million internally displaced persons were able to return to their homes in the first half of 2025, particularly in Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the same time, 2.9 million new internal displacements were recorded, mainly concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, and South Sudan.
Statelessness
By mid-2025, 4.4 million people were stateless or had undetermined nationality, a figure that has increased slightly due to the growth of the registered Rohingya population in Bangladesh. However, the real number could be much higher, as fewer than half of countries report complete data on statelessness.
The challenge of durable solutions
Although the number of displaced people has decreased for the first time in a decade, UNHCR warns that return does not automatically imply a sustainable solution. Reintegration requires time, stability, social cohesion, access to basic services, and security conditions that prevent renewed displacement.
Resettlement programs have also declined: only 28,700 people were resettled in the first half of the year, three times fewer than in 2024.
On a positive note, progress in local integration has increased: 40,000 refugees obtained citizenship or permanent residence in their host countries, a 51% increase.
An uncertain future: the impact of funding cuts
UNHCR warns that the 2025 budget cuts put 11.6 million forcibly displaced people at risk. These reductions have already affected families unable to meet basic needs, students whose education has been disrupted, and newly displaced people who cannot find the operational capacity needed to be relocated to safe places.
In addition, the cuts threaten data and registration systems, which are essential for understanding the scale of displacement and guiding effective responses.
Source: UNHCR – Mid-Year Trends 2025 https://www.unhcr.org/uk/publications/mid-year-trends
From Conexión Creando Puentes, we consider it essential to make these global trends visible in order to understand the magnitude of forced displacement and to promote collective reflection on the protection of human rights, social justice, and support for the most vulnerable communities.
BELOW WE PRESENT THE DATA FOR 2024
Main Trends in Forced Displacement in the First Half of 2024
[Let’s examine the differences in forced displacement between 2024 and 2025]
The latest UNHCR Mid-Year Trends Report reveals that forced displacement continues to reach record levels worldwide. As of the end of June 2024, 122.6 million people had been forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, violence, and human rights violations—an increase of 5% compared to the previous year. Currently, one in every 67 people globally is displaced, nearly double the figure from a decade ago.
The majority of these individuals (87%) are in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the disproportionate burden borne by regions with fewer resources. UNHCR warns that, without significant progress in resolving major ongoing conflicts, this number will continue to rise.
Refugees
By mid-2024, the total number of refugees had reached 43.7 million. This increase is primarily driven by conflicts in Sudan and Ukraine. Germany, Colombia, Iran, Türkiye, and Uganda collectively host more than one-third of the global refugee population under UNHCR’s mandate. In addition, an estimated 66% of refugees are living in protracted displacement situations, some for more than five years.
Internal Displacement
Internal displacement continues to account for the majority of cases: three out of every five displaced people have not crossed international borders. An estimated 72.1 million people are displaced within their own country due to conflict or violence, particularly in places such as Haiti, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ukraine.
Solutions
During the first six months of 2024, more than 433,000 people returned to their countries of origin, although many of these returns were premature due to ongoing violence. Progress was also recorded in resettlement and naturalization, although these solutions remain insufficient in the face of the scale of the challenge.
UNHCR stresses the need to strengthen international cooperation and responsibility-sharing to promote sustainable solutions. Only through collective, sustained, and coordinated action will it be possible to reverse the rising trend of forced displacement and ensure real, effective protection for those affected.
Source: UNHCR – Mid-Year Trends 2024: Key Displacement and Solutions Trends in the First Half of 2024.
https://www.unhcr.org/publications/mid-year-trends-2024
From our organization, Conexión – Creando Puentes, we reaffirm our commitment to displaced and refugee populations, working actively to raise awareness of their reality and to promote a culture of solidarity, justice, and human rights. We understand that forced displacement is not just a number but a deeply human crisis that demands coordinated, empathetic, and sustained responses. Through our actions, projects, and awareness-raising initiatives, we contribute to building social awareness and supporting efforts that foster inclusion, protection, and dignity for those forced to leave their homes.
12th December 2025
[Translated from Spanish]
