What the Latest Global Displacement Data from UNHCR Reveals

World Refugee Day, which falls each year on June 20, is a celebration of the strength and resilience of forcibly displaced people. It is a moment to acknowledge the contributions of both the well-known refugees like scientist Albert Einstein, Olympian Yusra Mardini, and artist Marc Chagall – who HIAS supported in escaping Nazi-occupied Europe – as well as the unsung refugee heroes: the teachers, nurses, construction workers, and bus drivers who contribute immeasurably to our communities.

At the same time, June 20 must also be a moment for critical reflection. It’s when the UNHCR compiles and releases key data on global displacement, including the number of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), the number of people returning home, and the number of newly displaced people. Accordingly, World Refugee Day can also be considered a report card on the progress the international community is making – or not – to address the global displacement crisis.

Here are three interesting things that the data tells us this year:

First, unlike in recent years, the total number of displaced people in the world declined in 2025. The decrease is small – from 123 million in 2024 to 117.8 million at the end of last year. Before we celebrate this decrease, however, we need to take a closer look at the numbers. While the reduction is driven by nearly 15 million refugees and IDPs returning home over the last year, according to the UN, “most of the returns have occurred under adverse circumstances and to areas where insecurity persists, access to basic services is lacking or severely limited and infrastructure is damaged, raising concerns about their sustainability and protection risks upon return”.

At the same time, millions of people have been newly displaced over the last year. Around the world, one in 70 people is still displaced. So, while we celebrate the people who have made the courageous decision to return home, we must acknowledge that the international community has to ensure that people have the ability to go back home safely if they choose or be properly protected in the meantime rather than pressured to return prematurely.

Second, the data reveals important trends in both the country of origin and the country of refuge of displaced people. As has long been the case, the majority of refugees last year were fleeing a relatively small number of protracted crises. Similarly, nearly half of all IDPs in 2025 come from just five countries. Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan top both lists, meaning that focused diplomatic efforts have the potential to enable tens of millions of people to return home if and when the conditions are right and they are willing and able to do so in a safe and dignified manner.

Despite political rhetoric to the contrary, the data shows that the highest income countries hosted just 29% of the world’s refugees last year, while low- and middle-income countries hosted most people seeking safety. Among these, the least developed countries – which cumulatively account for just over 1% of the global gross domestic product – hosted nearly 26% of refugees, only slightly less than the world’s richest countries.

Just six countries host more than a third of all refugees and others in need of international protection. Colombia – where HIAS works with Venezuelan refugees and migrants, Colombian returnees, internally displaced people, and host communities – tops the list, hosting 2.8 million displaced people over the course of last year. Chad – where HIAS has been working for more than twenty years – hosts the sixth-highest number of displaced people, 1.5 million people, most of them fleeing the world’s largest displacement crisis in neighboring Sudan.

In both countries, HIAS provides economic empowerment and mental health support to help people recover from trauma and rebuild their lives. Both Colombia and Chad, despite facing their own challenges including internal displacement, demonstrate the possibilities that are unleashed when protection is matched with opportunity.

Third, last year’s data on resettlement shows the dramatic global impact of the Trump administration’s changes to the longstanding U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which for decades has been the world’s largest. Resettlement offers refugees who cannot return home and who face acute risks in their countries of asylum the chance to rebuild their lives in third countries, with the opportunity to naturalize and become citizens eventually. In the last year, despite an estimated 2.9 million refugees requiring resettlement, just 81,800 people were granted access to this lifesaving pathway, representing less than 3% of global need. This decline was driven by the U.S., where the number of people resettled in 2025 dropped by 89% from the previous year, to just 11,500.

While less dramatic, Canada’s resettlement numbers also dropped by 21% in 2025 to 38,800 people. At the same time, the third largest traditional resettlement country, Australia, increased its admissions by 9% to 18,800. While it is a relatively modest solution given the scale of global displacement, for those who benefit from resettlement, it is a life-saving pathway and one that must be protected and expanded.

The data is clear: the scale of the challenge is stark. The global displaced population is currently almost double what it was a decade ago. But with concerted action and a commitment to addressing the root causes of forced displacement, in June 2027, the world may just be able to look back on a year of progress on advancing the rights, protection, and well-being of the world’s forcibly displaced people.