The number of internally displaced persons has reached 68 million in the world

According to the UN Global Compact’s annual report published today by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2017, 68.5 million people were displaced by the end of the year: 16.2 million of them were displaced during 2017.

Refugees who escaped from their countries, avoiding conflicts and persecutions, amounted to 25.4 million in 68.5 million. This number is 2.9 million more than in 2016 and is the highest rate of UNHCR in a year. Number of Asylum Seekers, who were still waiting for their decisions on refugee status claims as of 2017 December 31, has increased by nearly 300,000 reaching to 3.1 million. The total number of internally displaced persons is 40 million, slightly less than 40.3 million recorded in 2016.

In 2017 the world had almost as many displaced persons as the Thai population. In each of the countries, one out of every 110  is a displaced person.

“We are at a turning point when the success of the forced displacement management at the global level requires a new and more comprehensive approach so that countries and communities do not go alone with this problem,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Philip Gordon. “But there is still grounds for some hope. Fourteen countries have initiated a new project to respond to the situation of refugees, and within a few months the new Global Compact on Refugees will be ready for adoption by the UN General Assembly. Today, on the eve of the World Refugee Day, I send my message to the member states to support this project. Nobody becomes refugee by choice, but the rest can choose how to help them.”

Another two considerations of the Global Trends report are that most refugees live in urban areas (58 percent), not in camps or rural areas, and that internally displaced population is young. 53 percent are children, including many children without or separated from their families.

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