Thanks to the return of some Syrians, the number of forcibly displaced people in the world slightly decreases

BEIRUT — Thanks to the fall of President Assad and the return of a large number of Syrians to their homes, the total number of forcibly displaced people in the world has declined somewhat from the record set at the end of 2024, the UN revealed on Thursday.

At the end of 2024, the world had 123.2 million people forced to flee their homes due to wars, violence, or persecution. A record number.

But by the end of April, this number had fallen to 122.1 million, according to the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) annual report, because nearly two million Syrians were able to return home.

The evolution of this trend will largely depend on the direction of the main conflicts and crises currently unfolding in the world that have forced people to leave their homes.

"We are living in a period of great volatility in international relations, where modern warfare creates a fragile and heart-wrenching landscape marked by acute human suffering," said Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

"We must redouble our efforts to seek peace and find durable solutions for refugees and other people forced to flee their homes," he added, especially since funding is drying up and not just because of the abrupt withdrawal of U.S. humanitarian aid.

The main drivers of forced displacement remain the major conflicts: Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, etc.

Syrian hope

After thirteen years of civil war in Syria and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the first months of this year saw a growing number of Syrians returning home.

By mid-May, it is estimated that more than 500,000 Syrians returned to the country from abroad, while about 1.2 million internally displaced people have returned to their region of origin since the end of November.

According to the UN agency, by the end of 2025, up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced people could return to their homes.

Sudan, where civil war has been raging since mid-April 2023 and where the humanitarian and food crisis is forcing millions of people onto the roads, is now the country with the most forcibly displaced people: 14.3 million.

Despite the returns, Syria still accounts for 13.5 million refugees and internally displaced people, followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).

Peace, or at least a cease-fire, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Ukraine, could greatly move things forward.

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There is also the question of funds, which must be sufficient to ensure a "safe and dignified" return, but the UN, like many humanitarian organizations, is facing a significant liquidity crisis.

The United States, by far the largest donor, is now often absent, and many other countries have other priorities.

At the end of last year, one in 67 people worldwide was forcibly displaced, or 123.2 million people.

This includes notably 73.5 million internally displaced people and 31 million refugees under the UNHCR mandate.

In total, 9.8 million forcibly displaced people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees - the largest number in over twenty years.