According to UNHCR, there were more refugees in the world last year. Syria is no longer in first place in the countries of origin of displaced persons.
The number of people displaced by violence has increased significantly last year. This emerges from the world refugee report “Global Trends” of the UN refugee agency UNHCR. According to this, 123.2 million people worldwide were fleeing war and persecution by the end of last year. That is seven million people more than in 2023.
Katharina Thote, UNHCR representative in Germany, explains T-online: “The number is immense. 123 million, that is as many people as Japan has.” Thote emphasizes that it is about displaced people: “These are not people who voluntarily turn their backs on their homeland because they hope for a better life elsewhere.”
It is also not about people who would flee because of hunger or natural disasters, the UNHCR representative explains. “But it is people who had no other choice who were driven by force who had to flee from war and serious human rights violations and do not know whether they can ever return,” said Thote.
Inland refugees are mostly referred to as displaced persons. They do not enjoy special protection from international law. If people cross an international border, they are considered refugees under international law. The UNHCR summarizes both domestic and refugees who are looking for protection abroad under the term “violent”. According to UNHCR, more than two thirds of the refugees live in direct neighboring countries.
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According to the report, the number of refugees has remained largely stable with 42.7 million people. There are significantly more internal displaced persons: 73.5 million people were on the run in their own country – 6.3 million more than 2023. In addition, 8.4 million asylum seekers worldwide, an increase of 1.5 million compared to the previous year.
The first months of 2025 give hope for a slight downward trend in the escape numbers. Syrians in particular are responsible for this, who returned to their country after the fall of the Assad regime last December. According to UNHCR, it was about half a million returnees until mid -May. In addition, a good 1.2 million inland -selling people have returned to their home tag.
The UN Refugee Aid, founded in 1950, reports a total of 9.8 million returnees worldwide, including 1.6 million refugees. That is as many as they have not been in more than 20 years. The remaining 8.2 million goods were displaced. That is also the second highest number each registered.
Whether the return of the returnees is dependent on the development of the situation in countries affected by war and conflicts such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan or Ukraine, according to “Global Trends”.
Sudan the country with the most displaced persons
As can be seen from the UNHCR report, wars and conflicts are the main cause of flight. Mainly the Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine are affected. Accordingly, 14.3 million people fled from Sudan alone. The UNHCR describes the civil war there as a “greatest displacement crisis in the world”. The Sudan has thus replaced Syria (13.5 million) in first place as the country of origin of the displaced persons. This is followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million). In total, a little more than a third of all displaced persons come from these four countries.
