Refugee Crises in 2025: Causes, Statistics and Solutions
Refugee Crises in 2025: Scale, Causes and Solutions
At the end of 2025, 117.8 million people remained forcibly displaced worldwide, according to UNHCR Global Trends 2025. UNHCR's global refugee headline was 41.6 million, while 9 million people were asylum-seekers and 68.7 million were internally displaced by conflict or violence. Venezuela, Ukraine, the Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan and Sudan were the five largest origins of refugees under UNHCR's mandate and other people in need of international protection.
The main drivers of forced displacement included persecution, armed conflict, violence, human-rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order. Durable responses include access to protection and asylum, safe and voluntary return when conditions permit, local integration, resettlement and stronger international support for countries hosting large refugee populations.
Data snapshot: end-December 2025. Source type: official UNHCR statistics published with Global Trends 2025 on June 11, 2026. Historical ranking coverage: 20 official end-year observations from 2006 through 2025, measured in millions of forcibly displaced people and ranked from highest to lowest. Status count: 20 official_value, 0 calculated_value, 0 official_forecast and 0 modeled_projection.
Official UNHCR historical-series value for the global population remaining forcibly displaced at year-end.
Includes UNHCR refugee and refugee-like populations, other people in need of international protection, and Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate.
2024 ranks first among the 20 official end-year observations from 2006–2025.
2011 ranks last among the 20 observations in the historical comparison.
Official end-year observations from 2006 through 2025.
Population values are reported in millions; the article uses final end-2025 data released in June 2026.
No calculated values, forecasts, modeled projections or imputed historical observations.
Global refugee and displacement statistics for 2025
The 117.8 million global figure measures forced displacement, not refugees alone. UNHCR reports several related statistical categories, and those categories should not be treated as interchangeable.
Official end-2025 total for refugees under UNHCR's mandate and people in refugee-like situations.
A separate UNHCR statistical category for certain people outside their country or territory of origin who are likely to need international protection.
Palestine refugees registered under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
People reported by UNHCR as asylum-seekers with international-protection claims pending or otherwise recorded in this category.
People displaced within their own countries because of conflict or violence, based on IDMC data used by UNHCR.
An estimated 45 million children under age 18, representing about 38% of the forcibly displaced population.
How UNHCR reaches the 41.6 million refugee headline
UNHCR's end-2025 headline of 41.6 million includes 28.46 million refugees under UNHCR's mandate and people in refugee-like situations, 7.18 million other people in need of international protection, and 5.96 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate. These component categories remain distinct in the underlying statistics even though UNHCR combines them in its global refugee headline.
Why the forced-displacement categories do not simply add up
The overall forced-displacement total adjusts for overlaps in the underlying categories. UNHCR notes, for example, that some Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate may also be internally displaced. Such people can appear in category-specific statistics but are counted only once in the overall global forced-displacement total.
Refugee, asylum-seeker and IDP: the key differences
Refugee
A refugee is a person who meets an applicable refugee definition under international or regional refugee instruments, UNHCR's mandate or national law. The legal criteria are more specific than simply crossing a border because of hardship or insecurity.
Asylum-seeker
An asylum-seeker is a person seeking international protection whose claim may not yet have received a final determination. Not every asylum-seeker will ultimately be recognized as a refugee.
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person has been forced or obliged to leave home but has not crossed an internationally recognized state border. IDPs remain within their own country.
Other people in need of international protection
UNHCR uses this statistical category for certain people outside their country or territory of origin who are not reported under the refugee or asylum-seeker categories but are considered likely to need international protection, including protection against forced return.
Largest refugee-origin situations at the end of 2025
The five figures below use the same UNHCR origin indicator: refugees under UNHCR's mandate and other people in need of international protection. Around 65% of the population measured by this indicator originated from these five countries.
Venezuela
6.5M Refugees and other people in need of international protectionVenezuela was the largest origin under this comparable UNHCR indicator at end-2025.
Ukraine
5.2M Refugees and other people in need of international protectionUkraine remained one of the world's largest international protection situations at the end of 2025.
Syrian Arab Republic
4.9M Refugees and other people in need of international protectionSyria remained a major refugee-origin situation even as substantial numbers of Syrians returned during 2025.
Afghanistan
3.7M Refugees and other people in need of international protectionAfghanistan remained among the largest origins despite extensive returns from neighbouring host countries.
Sudan
2.8M Refugees and other people in need of international protectionSudan combined a major cross-border refugee crisis with an exceptionally large internal displacement emergency.
Other major crises may use different statistical categories
Myanmar also remained a major displacement emergency, but UNHCR reports its cross-border and internal-displacement figures using categories that are not identical to the five-country comparison above. It is therefore better treated separately rather than inserted into the same numeric ranking.
What caused refugee and forced-displacement crises in 2025?
Forced displacement can result from persecution, conflict, violence, human-rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order. These are drivers of displacement, but they should not be treated as identical to the legal criteria used to determine refugee status in every jurisdiction.
Armed conflict and violence
Major conflicts and insecurity continued to displace people within and across borders in Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries.
Persecution and protection risks
Refugee protection may apply when people outside their country of origin meet the relevant legal or mandate-based criteria because of feared persecution or other serious protection threats.
Protracted displacement
UNHCR reports that 70% of refugees were living in protracted situations. A protracted refugee situation is one in which refugees have remained in exile for five years or more without immediate prospects for a durable solution. The classification describes the situation as a whole and does not mean that every individual refugee within it has personally been displaced for at least five years.
Climate hazards as a risk multiplier
Droughts, floods, extreme heat and other hazards can damage livelihoods and intensify existing vulnerabilities. Cross-border movement caused solely by a climate-related hazard does not automatically create refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention, although protection may apply when climate impacts interact with persecution, conflict or other relevant risks.
Related StatRanker research: https://statranker.org/migration/impact-of-climate-change-on-migration-the-rise-of-climate-refugees/
What solutions can reduce long-term refugee displacement?
Emergency assistance protects people during crises, but durable solutions require conditions in which displaced people can rebuild their lives with effective national protection. UNHCR's traditional durable solutions for refugees are voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement.
Safe and voluntary return
UNHCR recorded 4,362,272 refugee returns in 2025. Return can constitute a durable solution when it is voluntary and takes place in safety and dignity. UNHCR also cautions that many returns during 2025 occurred under adverse circumstances and that reintegration conditions remained extremely challenging.
Local integration and self-reliance
Access to lawful employment, education, health care, documentation and national services can help refugees build stable lives in host countries. Local integration is broader than obtaining citizenship and can involve legal, economic and social inclusion over time.
Resettlement
UNHCR's 2025 solutions dataset records 81,766 resettled refugees. In its broader headline reporting, UNHCR states that about 81,800 refugees arrived through resettlement or sponsorship pathways, with or without UNHCR assistance.
Naturalization and permanent status
UNHCR recorded 93,296 naturalized refugees in 2025. Naturalization is one measurable outcome associated with long-term local integration, although integration includes more than citizenship alone.
Returns do not automatically mean a crisis has been resolved
Refugee returns were unusually high in 2025, but return totals alone do not establish that protection risks, damaged infrastructure, housing shortages or livelihood constraints have ended. Conditions in the country of origin remain essential when evaluating whether return is sustainable.
Which countries hosted the largest refugee populations in 2025?
Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Uganda and the Islamic Republic of Iran hosted around one-third of the world's refugees under UNHCR's mandate and other people in need of international protection. Their end-2025 populations were approximately 2.8 million, 2.7 million, 2.4 million, 1.9 million and 1.7 million respectively.
UNHCR's indicator covers refugees under its mandate, people in refugee-like situations and other people in need of international protection; Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate are excluded.
The neighbouring-country indicator uses the same broad UNHCR population scope and excludes Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate.
These figures show why responsibility sharing remains central to refugee policy. Most refugees and other people measured by these UNHCR hosting indicators live in low- and middle-income countries, and most remain in countries close to their places of origin.
Top 10 end-year global forced-displacement totals, 2006–2025
This historical ranking provides context for the scale of the 2025 crisis. It does not rank individual conflicts or refugee situations. It ranks UNHCR's official global end-year forced-displacement totals from highest to lowest.
Top 10 observations in the official 2006–2025 UNHCR series
| Rank | End year | Displaced | Source / Method Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024 | 123.25M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2024; published end-year value. |
| 2 | 2025 | 117.83M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025; source release 2026; target year 2025; published end-year value. |
| 3 | 2023 | 116.36M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2023; published end-year value. |
| 4 | 2022 | 107.22M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2022; published end-year value. |
| 5 | 2021 | 88.23M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2021; published end-year value. |
| 6 | 2020 | 81.49M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2020; published end-year value. |
| 7 | 2019 | 78.38M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2019; published end-year value. |
| 8 | 2018 | 72.56M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2018; published end-year value. |
| 9 | 2017 | 67.90M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2017; published end-year value. |
| 10 | 2015 | 65.03M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2015; published end-year value. |
The 2025 total remained the second-highest observation in the 20-year series even after global forced displacement declined from the 2024 peak.
Global forced displacement trend: 2006–2025
The chart uses the same raw end-year values as the main ranking table. Recent years dominate the upper end of the series, while 2025 shows the first decline after the sequence of increases recorded from 2016 through 2024.
Methodology
Historical metric
Global number of people remaining forcibly displaced at the end of each year in the official UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series.
Unit and direction
Unit: millions of people. Direction: descending, so the larger published end-year population receives the higher rank.
Target years
Each row retains its own target year from 2006 through 2025. The ranking is a historical comparison and not a same-year country ranking.
Source and hierarchy
Ranking values come directly from UNHCR Global Trends 2025. Supplementary 2025 refugee, hosting and solutions statistics also use official UNHCR sources and the IDMC internal-displacement data incorporated by UNHCR.
Data status
All 20 ranking rows are official_value. No ranking row is a calculated_value, official_forecast or modeled_projection.
Ranking method
Rank is assigned directly from the published raw end-year population value in descending order. No averaging, interpolation, forecast, CAGR or missing-value imputation is used.
2025 snapshot
The article uses final end-December 2025 statistics published with UNHCR Global Trends 2025 on June 11, 2026 rather than preliminary 2025 estimates.
Limits
The ranking measures the stock of people remaining forcibly displaced at year-end. It does not measure only refugees, new displacement during the year, conflict severity, humanitarian funding needs, asylum approval rates or migration in general.
The page keeps refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and other people in need of international protection separate where the underlying statistics require different definitions. Conflicting or non-comparable population categories are not averaged or merged into new ranking values.
Main ranking: global forced displacement by end year
The table ranks all 20 confirmed observations in UNHCR's official 2006–2025 historical series. Search by year, filter by period or status, change the sort order or show only the Top 10.
Global forced displacement, official end-year observations
| Rank | End year | Displaced | Source / Method Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024 | 123.25M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2024; official observed end-year value. |
| 2 | 2025 | 117.83M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025; source release 2026; target year 2025; official observed end-year value. |
| 3 | 2023 | 116.36M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2023; official observed end-year value. |
| 4 | 2022 | 107.22M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2022; official observed end-year value. |
| 5 | 2021 | 88.23M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2021; official observed end-year value. |
| 6 | 2020 | 81.49M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2020; official observed end-year value. |
| 7 | 2019 | 78.38M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2019; official observed end-year value. |
| 8 | 2018 | 72.56M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2018; official observed end-year value. |
| 9 | 2017 | 67.90M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2017; official observed end-year value. |
| 10 | 2015 | 65.03M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2015; official observed end-year value. |
| 11 | 2016 | 64.17M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2016; official observed end-year value. |
| 12 | 2014 | 59.21M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2014; official observed end-year value. |
| 13 | 2013 | 51.23M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2013; official observed end-year value. |
| 14 | 2012 | 42.75M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2012; official observed end-year value. |
| 15 | 2007 | 42.69M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2007; official observed end-year value. |
| 16 | 2008 | 41.98M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2008; official observed end-year value. |
| 17 | 2009 | 41.10M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2009; official observed end-year value. |
| 18 | 2010 | 41.06M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2010; official observed end-year value. |
| 19 | 2006 | 39.47M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2006; official observed end-year value. |
| 20 | 2011 | 38.54M | official_value; UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical series; source release 2026; target year 2011; official observed end-year value. |
Single-source ranking: UNHCR Global Trends 2025 historical forced-displacement series, released in 2026. Every row is an official observed value. The table contains no calculated values, forecasts or modeled projections.
Insights from the historical ranking
Key Insight
The highest end-year total in the 2006–2025 table is 123.25 million in 2024. The 2025 value of 117.83 million ranks second.
Notable Pattern
2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are the only observations in the 20-year table above 100 million forcibly displaced people.
Source Concentration
All 20 ranking rows come from one official statistical series: UNHCR Global Trends 2025. No secondary-source values are mixed into the ranking.
Outlier
From 2016 through 2024, every successive end-year observation increased. The 2025 value breaks that sequence by falling below 2024 while still remaining the second-highest value in the full table.
What the 2025 refugee statistics mean
The most important distinction is between the 117.8 million people forcibly displaced worldwide and UNHCR's 41.6 million global refugee headline. The larger number covers several forms of displacement and should not be described as the number of refugees.
The decline from the 2024 peak also requires care. UNHCR reports that global forced displacement fell by about 5.4 million people in 2025, largely as returns increased in several major crises. Many returns nevertheless occurred under adverse circumstances, so a lower global total does not mean that the underlying protection crises were resolved.
Refugee statistics are also different from general international migration statistics. For broader migrant-stock and origin-destination analysis, see https://statranker.org/migration/global-migration-trends-top-destinations-and-source-countries-in-2025/ and https://statranker.org/migration/top-100-origin-countries-by-emigrants-abroad-2025/.
FAQ
How many people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025?
UNHCR reports 117.8 million people forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of December 2025. The official historical data table reports the value as 117.83 million.
How many refugees were there at the end of 2025?
UNHCR's global refugee headline was 41.6 million. That headline includes refugees and refugee-like populations under UNHCR's mandate, other people in need of international protection, and Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate.
Which were the largest refugee-origin situations in 2025?
Using UNHCR's comparable indicator for refugees under its mandate and other people in need of international protection, the five largest origins were Venezuela at 6.5 million, Ukraine at 5.2 million, the Syrian Arab Republic at 4.9 million, Afghanistan at 3.7 million and Sudan at 2.8 million.
What is the difference between a refugee and an asylum-seeker?
A refugee meets an applicable refugee definition under international or regional instruments, UNHCR's mandate or national law. An asylum-seeker is seeking international protection and may still be awaiting a final determination of the claim.
Are internally displaced people refugees?
No. Internally displaced people have been forced from their homes but remain within their own country. Refugee status concerns people outside their country of origin who meet the applicable refugee definition.
What does it mean that 70% of refugees were in protracted situations?
UNHCR defines protracted refugee situations as situations in which refugees have remained in exile for five years or more without immediate prospects for a durable solution. The classification applies to the situation as a whole and does not mean that every individual refugee within it has personally been displaced for five years.
Did the global refugee crisis improve in 2025?
Global forced displacement declined from its 2024 peak, but the 2025 end-year total remained the second-highest observation in the 2006–2025 series. UNHCR also reports that many returns occurred under adverse circumstances, so the decline should not be interpreted as proof that the major crises were resolved.
What are the main durable solutions for refugees?
UNHCR identifies voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement as the three traditional durable solutions. Their feasibility depends on individual protection needs, conditions in countries of origin and policies in host and resettlement countries.
Are people displaced by climate change automatically refugees?
No. Cross-border movement caused solely by climate-related hazards does not automatically create refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Climate impacts can, however, interact with persecution, conflict and other protection risks.
Are the historical ranking values forecasts or calculations?
No. All 20 ranking values are official observed end-year figures published by UNHCR. The ranking contains no calculated population values, forecasts or modeled projections.
Sources
UNHCR — Global Trends 2025
Primary end-2025 source for global forced displacement, refugee populations, returns and major displacement trends. Released June 11, 2026.
UNHCR — Figures at a Glance
Primary source for the official 2006–2025 forced-displacement historical series and the end-2025 population-category breakdown.
UNHCR — Refugee Data Finder
Official source for largest origin populations, largest host populations, children, hosting indicators and other end-2025 refugee statistics.
UNHCR — Population Definitions
Methodological definitions for refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and other people in need of international protection.
https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/methodology/definition
UNHCR — Refugee Definition
Legal framework covering refugee definitions under international and regional instruments, UNHCR's mandate and national law.
https://emergency.unhcr.org/protection/legal-framework/refugee-definition
UNHCR — Refugee Hosting Metrics
Primary source for the 68% low- and middle-income hosting share, 65% neighbouring-country share and 70% protracted-situations indicator, including methodological limitations.
https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/explainers/refugee-hosting-metrics.html
UNHCR — Global Trends Annexes
Detailed end-2025 statistical annexes, including the official total of 4,362,272 returned refugees.
https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/annexes/trends-annexes.html
UNHCR — Solutions Data
Official 2025 figures for refugee returns, 81,766 resettled refugees, 93,296 naturalized refugees and returned internally displaced people.
UNHCR — Solutions
Official framework for voluntary repatriation, local integration, resettlement and other approaches to durable refugee solutions.
https://www.unhcr.org/what-we-do/build-better-futures/solutions
UNHCR — Climate Change and Displacement Law
Legal context for climate-related cross-border movement and the circumstances in which international protection frameworks may apply.
UNHCR — 1951 Refugee Convention
Primary legal reference for the international refugee protection framework and the principle of non-refoulement.
https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/overview/1951-refugee-convention
