The number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence, and human rights abuses stood at a record 108.4 million by the end of 2022, up 19.1 million on the previous year - which was a record increase, said UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday.
This was revealed in the agency’s flagship annual report, Global Trends in Forced Displacement 2022.
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More people than ever were uprooted from their homes last year due to war, other turmoil, and climate change. This increased the necessity for swift, coordinated action to address the worldwide issue.
It remains the world’s low and middle-income countries, not wealthy states that host most displaced people, said the report.
The 46 least developed nations, account for less than 1.3 per cent of global gross domestic product, yet they hosted more than 20 per cent of all refugees, UNHCR said.
Funding for displacement and to support hosts, remained inadequate for 2022 and the same applies so far this year, the agency added.
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“These figures show us that some people are far too quick to rush to conflict, and way too slow to find solutions. The consequence is devastation, displacement, and anguish for each of the millions of people forcibly uprooted from their homes,” High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
Of the global total, 35.3 million were refugees, people who crossed an international border to find safety, while a greater share, 58 per cent, representing 62.5 million people – were internally displaced due to conflict and violence.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the top driver of displacement in 2022. The number of refugees soared from 27,300 at the end of 2021, to 5.7 million at the end of 2022 – representing the fastest outflow of refugees anywhere since World War Two.
Estimates for the number of refugees from Afghanistan were sharply higher by the year’s end, due to revised estimates of Afghans hosted in Iran, many having arrived in previous years.
“People around the world continue to show extraordinary hospitality for refugees as they extend protection and help to those in need,” Grandi added, “but much more international support and more equitable responsibility sharing is required, especially with those countries that are hosting most of the world’s displaced.
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At the end of 2022, an estimated 4.4 million people worldwide were stateless or of undetermined nationality, a full two per cent more than at the end of 2021.
The Global Trends report is being launched six months ahead of the second Global Refugee Forum, a major gathering in Geneva bringing together a range of actors to find new solutions for people forced to flee and their hosts, and to emphasize the importance of global solidarity in confronting the problem.