2.5 million refugees will need resettlement next year, says UN

Some 2.5 million refugees are expected to require resettlement next year, a decrease attributed to the voluntary return of Syrians to their country, the U.N. said on Tuesday. This announcement comes as the United States has halted the refugee resettlement program under Donald Trump.

Resettlement is a specific and rare procedure that involves transferring refugees from a country of first asylum to another state that has agreed to host them and eventually grant them permanent residence. "Although the figure remains high, the annual resettlement needs have decreased, from 2.9 million for the current year to 2.5 million next year, even as the number of refugees worldwide continues to rise," said Shabia Mantoo, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency, during the presentation of the figures.

The decrease is primarily due to the evolving situation in Syria, which has enabled voluntary returns, according to a statement from UNHCR. "We are seeing some people withdrawing their applications for resettlement in favor of plans to return home to rebuild their lives," explained Mantoo.

In 2026, refugee groups with the greatest need for resettlement will be Afghans (573,400), Syrians (442,400), South Sudanese (258,200), Sudanese (246,800), Rohingyas (233,300) and Congolese (179,500). In 2025, resettlement quotas, which are set by host countries, are expected to be the lowest in two decades, even falling below the levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many countries suspended their programs, according to the UNHCR. "This dramatic decrease in available places risks nullifying the significant progress made in recent years," warned the spokesperson for the U.N. agency.

Given the needs and the limited number of places available for refugee resettlement, UNHCR is calling on resettlement states to maintain their programs and increase their reception capacities. For 2026, the international community has set a goal to resettle 120,000 refugees, a figure slightly higher than the more than 116,000 who were resettled last year.

Soon after his return to the White House, Donald Trump suspended the U.S. refugee resettlement program. In contrast, the United States had previously been one of the main contributors, with more than 100,000 people resettled the previous year. Besides the United States, UNHCR has information that "a number of countries are also reducing or adjusting their quotas," noted Mantoo in this regard.