UNHCR’s Global Trends report released June 11, 2026 showed global forced displacement declining for the first time in a decade in 2025, with 14.7 million displaced people returning home amid a 3 percent drop in refugees to 41.6 million. The agency reported 5.4 million new displacements that year, with returns to Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria leading a 49 percent increase from 2024 that marked the second-highest annual total since 1965.
The UNHCR report listed the 14.7 million returns as including nearly 4.4 million refugees and 10.3 million internally displaced persons. A mid-year trends assessment from the agency placed the net reduction in remaining displaced people at 5.9 million by the middle of 2025 compared with the end of 2024. UNHCR figures show this reversal ends a decade of consecutive increases that had seen total forced displacement surpass 100 million by the end of 2022 according to earlier agency reports.
UNHCR data indicates 65 percent of refugees are hosted by neighboring countries. The report found that 70 percent of refugees have lived outside their homelands for many years, with many below the poverty line. The agency called for durable solutions beyond traditional humanitarian aid to foster self-reliance and rebuild lives.
High Commissioner Barham Salih launched the report in Geneva. The UNHCR has introduced an initiative to reduce by more than half within 10 years the number of refugees in protracted displacement who depend on aid. This effort centers on expanding resettlement, family reunification, education and employment opportunities, according to the agency.
The number of refugees who benefited from resettlement and sponsorship programs fell by more than half to 81,800 in 2025 compared with 188,800 the previous year, UNHCR figures show. The report cautioned that many returns occurred under pressure and to precarious conditions at home. The agency stressed that lasting reintegration requires peacebuilding, social cohesion and support to prevent renewed displacement.
Iman Al-Ainawi, acting head of the UNHCR office in Kuwait, highlighted Kuwait’s contributions to refugee support. “The State of Kuwait is a living example in terms of supporting refugees, as it has been keen on finding lasting and peaceful solutions for refugees around the world and to affirm its solidarity with humanitarian causes through its generous contributions and continuous support,” Al-Ainawi said in a press statement. The UNHCR report noted that about 46,000 stateless persons acquired citizenship in their host countries during 2025.
