The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) around the world reached 71.1 million across 110 countries and territories at the end of 2022, a sharp increase of 20 percent from the previous year, according to a new report released Thursday. The Global Report on Internal Displacement 2023 (GRID 2023) by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) says rapidly escalating conflict and violence in countries such as Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and climate related disasters such as flooding in Pakistan forced millions of people to flee in the past year.
Internal displacement is a global phenomenon, but nearly three-quarters of the world’s IDPs live in just ten countries - Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Colombia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan - many as a result of unresolved conflicts that continued to trigger significant displacement in 2022. Of the 71.1 million internally displaced people worldwide at the end of last year, 62.5 million were forced to flee due to conflict and violence and 8.7 million due to natural disasters, according to the report.
Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa had the highest numbers of internally displaced persons. 31.7 million of IDPs live in Sub-Saharan Africa, 12.8 million in the Middle East and North Africa, 8.8 million in South Asia, 8.6 million in Europe and Central Asia, 6.7 million in the Americas, and 2.6 million in East Asia and the Pacific.
According to the report, the number of movements in which people fled in search of safety and shelter - sometimes more than once - was also unprecedented in 2022. The figure of 60.9 million was up 60 percent from the previous year. The conflict in Ukraine triggered nearly 17 million displacements as people fled repeatedly from rapidly shifting front lines, and monsoon floods in Pakistan triggered 8.2 million, accounting for a quarter of the year’s global disaster displacement.
“Today’s displacement crises are growing in scale, complexity and scope, and factors like food insecurity, climate change and escalating and protracted conflicts are adding new layers to this phenomenon,” said IDMC’s director, Alexandra Bilak.
The IDMC reports conflict and violence triggered 28.3 million internal displacements worldwide, a figure three times higher than the annual average over the past decade. Beyond Ukraine, nine million or 32 percent of the global total were recorded in sub-Saharan Africa. DRC accounted for around four million and Ethiopia just over two million.
The number of disaster displacements rose by nearly 40 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 32.6 million, largely the result of the effects of La Niña which continued for a third consecutive year. South Asia recorded the highest regional figure, surpassing East Asia and the Pacific for the first time in a decade. In the Horn of Africa, the worst drought in 40 years triggered 2.1 million movements, including 1.1 million in Somalia alone, while fueling acute food insecurity across the region.
"Conflict and disasters combined last year to aggravate people’s pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities, triggering displacement on a scale never seen before," Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said.
"The war in Ukraine also fueled a global food security crisis that hit the internally displaced hardest. This perfect storm has undermined years of progress made in reducing global hunger and malnutrition."
In addition, the report is highlighting the connection between food security and displacement. Three-quarters of the countries that face crisis levels of food insecurity are also home to IDPs. The IDMC says shining light on this connection is key to understanding how IDPs are affected by disruptions to food systems, but also how future investments in food security will be essential to reaching solutions.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is a leading source of data and analysis on internal displacement worldwide. Established in 1998, the information service is part of the non-governmental organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). IDMC provides estimates of the number of people internally displaced or at risk of becoming displaced by conflict, violence, and disasters across the world. The information service is based in Geneva.
The Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian organization helping people forced to flee. Its headquarters are located in Oslo, Norway. The non-governmental organization (NGO) protects displaced people and supports them. Founded in 1946, the Norwegian Refugee Council started its relief efforts after World War Two and is currently one of the largest NGOs worldwide supporting refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The NRC's focus is the provision of urgent humanitarian aid during the emergency stage of a conflict or natural disaster. Today, the Norwegian Refugee Council works in new and protracted crises across 35 countries.
Further information
Full text: Global Report on Internal Displacement 2023 (GRID 2023), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, released May 11, 2023
https://www.internal-displacement.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/IDMC_GRID_2023_Global_Report_on_Internal_Displacement_LR.pdf
Website: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)
https://www.internal-displacement.org/
Website: Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
https://www.nrc.no/