New UNHCR Refugee Report Shows Staggering Increase

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Today, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) announced, ahead of World Refugee Day, that there are now nearly 80 million people displaced worldwide. The annual Global Trends report showed an increase of nearly nine million refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons since the release of last year's report.

“That there are nearly 80 million refugees and displaced persons means that 1 percent of the world’s population is displaced,” said Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS. “But it’s not just the staggeringly high numbers, it’s the terrible trend of the last decade. The number of refugees is growing as the political will to protect and welcome them is at risk of shrinking. The number of people displaced and seeking safety increased 15 percent just this past year — it’s an untenable situation. This is what happens when countries, like ours, fail to lead and fail to welcome.”

Read: UNHCR Global Trends Forced Displacement in 2019.

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