NEW YORK, 19th September, 2026 (WAM) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide fell to 117.8 million by the end of 2025, down 5.4 million from 2024.
The report, submitted to the United Nations General Assembly, attributed the decline mainly to a 49.2 percent increase in voluntary returns by refugees and internally displaced people. Around 4.4 million refugees and 10.3 million internally displaced people returned to their areas of origin.
The report said low- and middle-income countries continued to shoulder the largest burden, hosting 68 percent of the world's refugees, while neighbouring countries hosted 65 percent.
It added that protracted displacement situations continued to account for around 70 percent of the total.