Yemen

Middle East and North Africa

Yemen

Yemen's ongoing conflict anticipates localized escalations, potentially leading to new displacements, particularly in Marib and the south. Despite some internally displaced returns, challenges in humanitarian access persist.

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Yemen. A boy plays at a site for internally displaced people

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Key statistics

4.8 million

people were displaced or stateless (or returning from forced displacement) within the country at the end of 2024

4.7 million

people were identified as internally displaced in the country at the end of 2024

$305 million

are needed in 2025 to ensure that operations and programmes in Yemen are sustained

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Now in its tenth year, the crisis in Yemen remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian emergencies, driven by conflict, economic collapse, climate shocks, and the breakdown of public services. In 2025, an estimated 19.5 million people – over half the population – will require humanitarian assistance, including 4.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), making Yemen the fifth-largest internal displacement crisis globally.

Localized escalations, particularly in Marib and southern regions, may trigger further displacement. While some IDPs are returning, access to affected communities remains restricted, and protection risks are high. Climate-induced disasters, such as floods, now account for the majority of new displacements.

Yemen also hosted, by the end of 2024, over 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. Despite years of instability, Yemen remains the only country on the Arabian Peninsula that has acceded to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, serving both as a country of asylum and a key transit point for mixed movements.

UNHCR leads the Protection, CCCM, and Shelter/NFI clusters and remains the only UN agency mandated to protect and assist refugees and asylum-seekers in Yemen. Key priorities include enhancing protection and access to basic rights, improving living conditions through services and support for self-reliance, and enabling durable solutions such as resettlement and voluntary return. However, progress is hindered by bureaucratic impediments, humanitarian access constraints, and chronic underfunding.

Continued international support remains critical to sustaining life-saving assistance and protection in Yemen.