The number of refugees falls for the first time in ten years: why is it not good news?
There are 117.8 million forcibly displaced people, the second highest figure since records began
BarcelonaFor the first time in a decade, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has fallen. At the end of 2025, there were 117.8 million people in this situation, representing a 4% reduction compared to the previous year. But what might seem like good news at first glance hides a darker reality: record numbers of returns under adverse conditions have also been recorded.
According to the annual study published this Thursday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 14.7 million people returned to their places of origin last year. Of these, 4.4 million were refugees in other countries and 10.3 million were internally displaced. However, the majority of returns have occurred under adverse circumstances in states that are still insecure and due to the deterioration of the security situation in the countries of asylum.
where women and girls suffer severe restrictions on access to education and freedom of movementwhere women and girls suffer severe restrictions on access to education and freedom of movement.
The other substantial case is that of Syria, where the fall of Al-Assad's government in December 2024 marked a turning point for many Syrians, who returned to their country with hope. Approximately 1.3 million refugees and 2 million internally displaced persons returned to their places of origin, reducing the total population of internally displaced persons by 25% to 5.5 million. Despite initial optimism, the country is devastated after a brutal war that has lasted more than 14 years: 90% of Syrians live in poverty and many returnees face the total destruction of their homes and disputes over land ownership.
Despite returns, the presence of refugees and displaced people is a persistent scourge and is the second highest since records began. There are 41.6 million refugees and 9 million asylum seekers. But the figure of internally displaced people is even higher: 68.7 million people have left their homes but remain in their countries, often in conditions of extreme precariousness. Almost half (46%) are found in just five states: Sudan, Colombia, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
In fact, now in its fourth year of war, Sudan has consolidated itself as the world's largest displacement crisishas caused more displacements.
Why are they leaving?the intensity of the fighting in the northern Darfur region has caused more displacements.
Why are they leaving?
The main cause of internally displaced population are conflicts and violence. At the end of 2025, up to 68.7 million people were counted as displaced by armed conflicts, human rights violations, institutionalized discrimination or gang violence. But natural disasters are pushing more and more people to leave their homes; last year it was 30 million people. The novelty pointed out by the report is the trend towards the overlap of causes. In 9 out of 10 countries where new displacements due to conflict were recorded, displacements due to disasters also occurred, a fact that aggravates the population's vulnerability and hinders humanitarian aid.
Precisely the vulnerable profile of displaced persons is one of the complaints that UNHCR raises. On the one hand, it highlights that children are overrepresented: despite being only 29% of the world's population, they account for 39% of the refugee population. On the other hand, it warns that 70% of refugees live in prolonged displacement. The majority have been in exile for five years or more with no prospects of a solution and, in some contexts, the stay is almost 16 years.
Even more invisible are the 4.5 million stateless people, that is, those who do not have citizenship recognized in any state. The vast majority, 70%, live in Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Thailand, and Myanmar, in that order. The largest group of stateless people are the Rohingyas, who are 1.8 million people and constitute 41% of this group.
Finally, although the report focuses on data from 2025, it also warns that the war in the Middle East is causing a wave of displacement. With data from March, it warns that there were at least 1 million internally displaced people in Lebanon and 3.2 million temporarily displaced people in the Islamic Republic of Iran.