Close sites icon close

Country sites

Search for the country site.

Country profile

Country website

Where we work

A young boy from Syria with a toy world globe, at the Vinojug Reception Centre just inside the Macedonian border from Greece.
About UNHCR

Where we work

UNHCR is present in over 130 countries to protect and advocate for people forced to flee conflict and persecution.
© UNHCR/Mark Henley

In this section:

Africa
Americas
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Middle East and North Africa

Forcibly displaced populations*

At the end of June 2022, an estimated 103 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order.

This is an increase of 13.6 million (+15 per cent) compared to the end of 2021, more than the entire populations of Belgium, Burundi or Cuba.

As of mid-2022 an estimated 1 in every 77 people worldwide were forcibly displaced, more than twice as many as a decade ago (1 in 167 in 2012). UNHCR’s assessment indicates that the number of people forcibly displaced will continue to rise during the remainder of the year.

*The term forcibly displaced people encompasses refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and other people in need of international protection. It includes refugees not covered by UNHCR’s mandate and excludes other categories such as returnees and non-displaced stateless people.Learn more about the definition here.

Refugees, asylum-seekers and other people in need of international protection by country of origin | mid-2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine created the fastest and one of the largest displacements of people since the Second World War. 

In the initial days of the war, more than 200,000 refugees a day crossed into neighbouring countries. By mid-2022, 5.4 million refugees had fled the country, while a further 6.3 million people remained displaced within Ukraine.

War in Ukraine drives fastest displacement of people since WWII

Largest forced displacement flows across borders 1980 – mid-2022