Nearly 5.4 million people fled their countries in 2025 alone to escape violence and persecution, most seeking refuge in neighboring states, the report said.
Seven in 10 refugees are now in protracted displacement situations, meaning they have lived in exile for at least five consecutive years, according to UNHCR.
The report noted that while children make up 29% of the global population, they account for 39% of people who are refugees, have fled their countries without official refugee status, or are in need of international protection.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih said displacement has become a permanent condition for too many refugees.
"For too many refugees, displacement has become a lifeline whose support lasts a lifetime", Salih said. "Humanitarian aid saves lives, but it does not allow refugees to become active agents in deciding their own future. We need a paradigm shift that brings new hope and new opportunities for people fleeing war and persecution".
Salih added that many refugees live below the poverty line for years.
The report also found that 68.6 million people worldwide were internally displaced by the end of 2025 due to ongoing conflicts or violence, a 7% drop from the end of 2024. Sudan remained the country with the largest internal displacement crisis, with 9.1 million people, followed by Colombia with 7.2 million, Syria with 6 million, Yemen with 4.8 million and Afghanistan with 4.4 million.
Around 14.7 million people returned to their homes last year, including nearly 4.4 million refugees, the report said. Almost 90% of those returns were to Afghanistan (1.9 million), Syria (1.3 million) and Sudan (651,000). UNHCR said many of those returns occurred under pressure and amid significant political or social instability, though the overall figure was the second-highest recorded since the U.N. began tracking returns 60 years ago.
Resettlement of refugees to other countries through government programs dropped sharply, to 81,800 in 2025 from 188,000 in 2024. Australia, Canada, France and the United States were the leading resettlement countries.
About 9 million asylum seekers worldwide were awaiting decisions on their applications at the end of 2025, according to UNHCR data.
The agency estimated that 4.5 million people globally were stateless as of December 2025, though it cautioned the actual figure is likely much higher because many stateless groups go unregistered. Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine state made up the largest share, at 41%. Nearly 46,000 stateless people acquired citizenship in one of 24 countries in 2025, the report said.
Salih set a goal of cutting the number of people in protracted displacement and dependent on humanitarian aid in half by 2035, through job creation and expanded access to education.
The year 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Refugee Convention, the foundational document of the international system protecting people fleeing persecution and violence.
(jh)
Source: PAP