UNHCR released the latest Global Trends report, which provides key statistical trends on forced displacement. It includes the latest official statistics on refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless people, as well as the number of refugees who have returned home. The report highlights inter alia that:

• New and ongoing conflicts have driven forced displacement across the globe. Conflict in Sudan broke out in April 2023, causing one of the largest humanitarian and displacement crises in the world. More than 6 million people were displaced within the country, with a further 1.2 million fleeing to neighbouring countries. In Myanmar, escalating violence following the military takeover in February 2021, displaced more than 1.3 million people within the country in 2023. While in Palestine, UNRWA estimates that between October and December 2023, up to 1.7 million people (or over 75 per cent of the population) were displaced by the conflict in the Gaza Strip, with some forced to flee multiple times.
   
• The global refugee population increased by 7 % to reach 43.4 million during the year. This includes 31.6 million refugees and people in a refugee-like situation and 5.8 million other people in need of international protection under UNHCR's mandate, as well as 6 million Palestinian refugees under UNRWA's mandate. The largest proportion of refugees globally were from Afghanistan and Syria, both with 6.4 million each, and together equivalent to one-third of all refugees under UNHCR’s mandate. 
   
• Internally displaced people, or IDPs, account for 58 % of all forcibly displaced people. At the end of 2023, 68.3 million people remained internally displaced due to conflict and violence. An estimated 9.1 million people were displaced within Sudan, the largest internally displaced population ever reported. This was followed by Syria (7.2 million), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.7 million).
   
• In 2023, nearly 1.1 million refugees from 39 countries decided to return home from a total of 93 countries of asylum. However, as most returns occurred in contexts not entirely conducive to return in safety and dignity, they may not be sustainable. In addition, 5.1 million people displaced within their own country returned to their place of origin during the year. 
   
• According to official government data, 158.700 refugees were resettled to third countries in 2023, representing 35 % more (40,000) than during the previous year. A further 30,800 refugees acquired the citizenship of their host country during the year and were locally integrated.

For further information, please visit this page and download the report. You can also watch the press briefing of UNHCR on the occasion of the release of the report.