Global Displacement Tops 122 Million

The number of people displaced by war and persecution worldwide has surged to over 122 million, according to the latest report from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), highlighting a worsening crisis as international aid funding plummets to its lowest level in a decade.

The agency’s data, released Thursday, reveals that ongoing conflicts in countries such as Sudan, Ukraine, and Myanmar have forced more than two million additional people to flee their homes since the start of 2025.

Despite the return of some Syrian refugees following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the net number of displaced individuals continues to rise.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, attributed the increase to the failure to resolve long-standing conflicts and the persistence of major wars. He described the current global landscape as one marked by severe disruption in international relations, shaped by modern warfare and severe humanitarian distress.

UNHCR’s report also warns that aid funding has dropped back to 2015 levels — a time when the global number of refugees was roughly half of today's figures. The organisation labelled this drastic cut in assistance as both "brutal and ongoing", stating it places refugees and vulnerable communities at significant risk.

The agency stressed that current funding levels are unsustainable and could jeopardise life-saving services, especially for women and children. Reduced support, it warned, increases the likelihood of sexual violence against displaced women and exposes children to greater risk of human trafficking.