According to the report of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in 2025, for the first time in the last decade, the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution worldwide decreased. However, the rate of refugees facing long-term displacement remains unacceptably high. As reported “Armenpress”Reuters reports.
An estimated 5.4 million people were forced to flee their homes during the year, bringing the total number of refugees or near-refugee status to 41.6 million, including approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees.
Meanwhile, some 14.7 million refugees and internally displaced persons have returned to their homes, a 50% increase over the previous year and one of the highest figures since 1965.
The majority of returns were reported in the following countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Myanmar.
The report notes that, however, many returnees face dire conditions – limited services, destroyed infrastructure and a sense of continued insecurity – which calls into question the sustainability and safety of their return.
About 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan in 2025, of which 1.9 million were refugees, which is five times more than the previous year. This is mainly due to the strict policy of the neighboring countries, Iran and Pakistan.
The report also states that about 1.3 million people returned to Syria in 2025, almost three times more than the previous year.
The UN refugee agency has reported that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is already shaping displacement trends for 2026. an estimated 3.2 million people were temporarily displaced in Iran, and an estimated one million were forced to flee their homes in Lebanon due to ongoing hostilities and evacuation orders.
