By Nicholas Keung Toronto Star June 11, 2026

The decline reflected displaced people who returned home last year in countries including Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Syria.

Forced displacement from wars and persecution around the world fell for the first time in a decade, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The latest data showed the number of people who were forced to leave their homes and remained displaced at the end of 2025 dropped by four per cent to 117.8 million from 123.2 million a year ago, the UNHCR said in a report released Thursday.

The decline reflected a sharp increase in the number of international refugees and internally displaced individuals who returned home last year in some of the countries with the largest displacement such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Syria.

In 2025, almost 5.4 million people had to flee and seek safety across borders, predominantly in neighbouring countries. The majority came from eight countries: Sudan (952,700), Ukraine (788,100), Venezuela (455,300), South Sudan (232,800), Burkina Faso (221,300), Afghanistan (191,400), Mali (177,200) and Myanmar (165,400).

Meanwhile, returns of both internationally and domestically displaced people rose by 50 per cent, reaching 14.7 million, the second highest level since records began 60 years ago. Returnees to the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.6 million), Sudan (3.6 million), Syria (3.3 million), Afghanistan (two million), Ukraine (718,300) and Myanmar (415,200) accounted for 92 per cent of all returns.

But in many cases, there’s little to celebrate.

“Most of the returns have occurred under adverse circumstances and to areas where insecurity persists, access to basic services is lacking or severely limited and infrastructure is damaged, raising concerns about their sustainability and protection risks upon return,” the 54-page report cautioned.

The report noted that 70 per cent of the total number of displaced people had remained in exile for five years or more after they initially fled their home, without immediate prospects for durable solutions.

That’s why the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, is urging the international community to back a new initiative that he hopes would halve long-term displacement and reliance on humanitarian aid over the next decade.

The initiative aims at integrating displaced people in the host countries, promoting safe and voluntary returns, expanding permanent resettlement and working with developmental agencies to provide economic opportunities and long-term livelihoods beyond traditional aid.

“Asylum and protection are life-saving and not up for debate, but we cannot accept a future in which millions of refugees remain trapped for years or decades without realistic prospects of rebuilding their lives,” said Salih, a former president of Iraq, in a news release.

“We now have an ambitious, achievable and quantifiable goal to advance self-reliance and transform lives for the better. UNHCR will galvanize efforts across society to meet this challenge and create pathways out of the grinding banality of protracted displacement for millions.”

Salih’s call came after the international community last year accepted only 81,800 refugees via permanent resettlement or sponsorship programs, a 57 per cent drop from the 188,800 the year before. Canada resettled 38,000 refugees in 2025, the highest in the world, followed by Australia (18,800), the U.S. (11,500) and France (3,100). 

The UN report said nine million asylum seekers had a decision pending last year. As of April, Canada’s refugee board had 293,075 claims in the system.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/surprising-drop-in-refugees-and-forcefully-displaced-people-worldwide-un-reports/article_a91d3272-a65f-4a32-a6da-4c220b7d9a38.html