The U.N. refugee agency said forced displacement of people due to conflict or persecution fell in 2025 for the first time in a decade. But the agency warned in its annual report Thursday that 118 million people who had to flee their homes or nations is still alarmingly high. A look at the agency’s Global Trends Report on refugees and displaced people, by the numbers:118 millionThe total number of people forcibly displaced by conflict, violence or persecution at the end of 2025 was 117.8 million. The figure includes refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and other groups in need of international protection. It’s the first time in a decade the statistic fell. Behind the decline is both an increase in people who returned home and the fact that many refugees acquired citizenship of their host countries, among other reasons, said Tarek Abou Chabake, the U.N. agency’s chief statistician. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees warned the number of those displaced globally, mostly by conflict, was unacceptably high.
39% Percentage of children among 41.6 million refugees last year. While Colombia, Germany and Turkey hosted more than 2 million refugees each, the majority live in low- to middle-income countries. Despite a 3% fall from the previous year, 5.4 million people crossed an international border in 2025 seeking refuge.
