The number of displaced people in the world exceeds 70 million…

In 2018, the number of people fleeing wars, persecutions and conflicts has exceeded 70 million, which is the highest figure recorded in almost 70 years. This is reported by UNHCR on World Refugee Day.

The UNHCR Global Trends Report, published today, shows that almost 70.8 million people are currently displaced. For comparison, this figure is twice higher than 20 years ago, 2.3 million more than a year ago, and corresponds to the average population of Thailand and Turkey.
There are three major groups in the 70.8 million number listed in the Global Trends report. The first group is refugees, people who have to flee their country because of conflicts, wars or persecutions. In 2018, the number of refugees worldwide has reached 25.9 million, more than 500,000 in 2017. This total number includes 5.5 million Palestinians, who are under the auspices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

The second group is asylum seekers, people who are outside the country of origin and receive international protection by waiting for the result of their application for refugee status. By the end of 2018, 3.5 asylum seekers were registered worldwide.
The third and largest group, whose number is 41.3 million, is people who have been deported inside their own country. a group called internally displaced persons or IDPs.

The total increase in deportations continues to exceed the level of opportunities for displaced people to find solutions. The best solution for refugees is to return home voluntarily, in safe and dignified terms. Other solutions include integrating host communities or resettlement in a third country. However, only 92,400 refugees have been resettled in 2018, with less than 7 percent of those who have been resettled. About 593,800 refugees were able to return home, while 62,600 were subjected to immigration.

“In any refugee situation, wherever it may be, no matter how longer it takes, it is necessary to focuse on the elimination of solutions and obstacles so that people can return home,” says UN High Commissioner for Refugees Philip Grande. “This is a tough job in which UNHCR is always involved, but also requires the unification of all countries for the common good. This is one of the greatest challenges of our times.