Over 117 Million People Forcibly Displaced In 2023: UNHCR

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said that the number of people forcibly displaced in 2023 due to war, violence, and human rights violations stood at a record 117.3 million. In the latest Global Trends Report published on Thursday, UNHCR mentioned that forced displacement has continued to increase in the first four months of 2024 and, by the end of April 2024, is likely to have exceeded 120 million.

The surge in the number constitutes a rise of 8 percent, or 8.8 million people, compared to the end of 2022. The report indicates that one in every 69 people, or 1.5 percent of the entire world’s population, is now forcibly displaced. The conflict in Sudan caused one of the largest humanitarian and displacement crises in the world. As per the report, six million people were displaced within the country in 2023. The escalating violence in Myanmar has displaced more than 1.3 million people within the country. At the same time, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) estimated that about 75 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip, which is about 1.7 million people, had been displaced between October and December 2023.

The flagship statistical report also mentioned that most refugees remain near their country of origin. Notably, 75 percent of refugees live in low- and middle-income countries. “Behind these stark and rising numbers lie countless human tragedies. That suffering must galvanize the international community to act urgently to tackle the root causes of forced displacement," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in the report.