The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) reached a record 83.4 million at the end of 2024, according to the new Global Report on Internal Displacement released on Tuesday by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). The total is more than double the number just six years ago, and equivalent to the population of Germany.
“Internal displacement is where conflict, poverty and climate collide, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest,” Alexandra Bilak, Director of IDMC, said in a statement.
“These latest numbers prove that internal displacement is not just a humanitarian crisis; it’s a clear development and political challenge that requires far more attention than it currently receives.”
According to IDMC, nearly 90 percent of IDPs, or 73.5 million people, were displaced by conflict and violence, an 80 percent increase in six years.
The rise in armed conflict in recent years in countries and territories such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, DR Congo), Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Palestine, OPT), Sudan and Ukraine has caused an increase in the number of IDPs, adding to the tens of millions of people living in situations of protracted displacement in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Syria and Yemen.
While Sudan alone hosted a record 11.6 million IDPs, the highest number ever recorded in a single country, ten countries had more than 3 million IDPs due to conflict and violence at the end of 2024, double the number four years earlier. Meanwhile, nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip remained internally displaced at the end of the year.
An additional 9.8 million people were internally displaced by the end of 2024, having been forced to flee due to disasters such as extreme flooding and tropical storms, a 29 percent increase from the previous year and more than double the number just five years ago. Afghanistan, with 1.3 million, and Chad, with 1.2 million, together accounted for nearly a quarter of the total. The Philippines were also severely affected.
“Internal displacement rarely makes the headlines, but for those living it, the suffering can last for years. This year’s figures must act as a wake-up call for global solidarity,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which is behind IDMC.
“For how much longer will the number of people affected by internal displacement be allowed to grow and grow, as a result of a lack of ownership and leadership?”
Egeland said that every time humanitarian funding is cut, another displaced person loses access to "food, medicine, safety and hope."
“Over the past year, I’ve met with internally displaced families in DR Congo, in Palestine, and in Sudan, and listened to them speak about the devastating impact of displacement on their lives and their hopes for the future,” he added.
“The lack of progress is both a policy failure and a moral stain on humanity. Now is the time for governments to show political will and financial investments for lasting solutions to displacement.”
In many situations, women, children and men had to flee multiple times throughout the year as conflict zones shifted, deepening their vulnerability and hampering their efforts to rebuild their lives.
Together, the DRC, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Sudan accounted for 12.3 million internal displacements or forced movements of people last year, nearly 60 percent of the global total for displacement due to conflict.
Disasters caused 45.8 million internal displacements in 2024, the highest annual figure since IDMC began monitoring disaster displacement in 2008 and more than double the annual average of the past decade.
IDMC reports that weather-related events, many exacerbated by climate change, caused 99.5 percent of the year's disaster displacement. While cyclones and typhoons triggered 54 percent of disaster-related displacement, flooding triggered another 42 percent, with major events occurring on all continents, including Africa, Asia, South America and throughout Europe.
Meanwhile, the number of countries reporting displacement due to both conflict and disasters has tripled since 2009. At the end of 2024, more than 75 percent of people displaced by conflict and violence were living in countries with high or very high vulnerability to climate change.
“The cost of inaction is rising, and displaced people are paying the price,” Bilak said.
“The data is clear, it’s now time to use it to prevent displacement, support recovery, and build resilience. Resolving displacement requires both immediate efforts to help people who have lost everything and investments to address underlying vulnerabilities, so people don't become displaced in the first place.”
IDMC's Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) is the leading source of data and analysis on the state of internal displacement for the previous year. Each year, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre presents validated estimates of internal displacement due to conflict and disasters, as well as the total cumulative number of IDPs worldwide. For the end of 2023, IDMC had reported a total of 75.9 million IDPs.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a key partner of the GRID, contributing significantly through its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) - the world's largest source of primary data on internal displacement. More than half of the estimates in the 2025 Report come from IOM's data collection and analysis.
IDMC provides estimates of the number of people who are internally displaced or at risk of displacement. The Geneva-based information service was established in 1998 and is part of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian organization that assists people who have been forced to flee their homes. Its headquarters are based in Oslo, Norway. The non-governmental organization (NGO) protects and assists displaced people. Founded in 1946, NRC began its work in the aftermath of World War II and is now one of the world's largest NGOs supporting refugees and IDPs.
NRC's focus is on providing emergency humanitarian assistance in the immediate aftermath of a conflict or natural disaster. Today, the Norwegian Refugee Council works in 40 countries in emerging and protracted crises.
Further information
Full text: Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), report, released May 13, 2025
https://api.internal-displacement.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/idmc-grid-2025-global-report-on-internal-displacement.pdf