Five key takeaways from UNHCR’s 2024 Mid-Year Trends report

The first six months of 2024 have borne witness to alarming changes and trends in forced displacement worldwide, many of which are expected to continue. The conflict in Sudan continues to drive record numbers of forced displacement, with 12.8 million individuals forcibly displaced at the end of June 2024. Violence and conflicts in Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine and Haiti have also contributed to large levels of displacement around the globe. Greater efforts by the international community to share responsibilities and find durable solutions would reverse the trend of growing forced displacement.

Here are our 5 takeaways from the 2024 Mid-Year Trends report:

1. 122.6 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, an increase of 5 million (5%) compared to the end of 2023.

At the end of June as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order, 122.6 million people were forcibly displaced, including 32 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate. This figure was exacerbated by the escalation of conflicts such as in Sudan, which saw the largest new displacement in the first half of 2024 with a further 1.6 million forcibly displaced, taking the overall number of forcibly displaced people from Sudan to 12.8 million.

2. 72.1 million people are estimated to have remained internally displaced due to conflict or violence at mid-2024, a 6% per cent increase from the end of 2023.

Mwamini Sebuhoro, 39, recently displaced from the Bushagara displacement site, lives her daily life a few kilometres north of the town of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 27 September 2024. Mwamini and her children travelled more than 90km to find a safe place to stay. ‘I feel safe here, but I’m tired and I can’t find enough food for me and the children.’ © UNHCR/Guerchom Ndebo

Between January and June 2024, 4.7 million people became internal displaced due to conflict or violence. Ninety per cent of these people are in Sudan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, Haiti and Mozambique. There were 10.5 million internally displaced persons in Sudan by mid-year, making this the largest internal displacement crisis ever recorded.

3. 4.4 million people are estimated to be stateless at mid-2024 and the true number is likely to be much higher.

Two in five of all reported stateless people are Rohingya, who face high levels of statelessness due to restrictive provisions and application of the Myanmar citizenship law which primarily confers citizenship on the basis of race. As of June 2024, the number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh had reached nearly 1 million people and there were nearly 1.8 million stateless Rohingya reported globally. The largest non-displaced stateless populations were registered in Cote d’Ivoire and Thailand. Approximately half of all countries don’t report any data on statelessness, including many countries with known large stateless populations.

4. 2.7 million people sought international protection in the first six months of 2024.

In the first half of 2024, 851,500 individuals were granted refugee status, either on an individual or a group basis, an increase of 25 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year. 8 million asylum-seekers were pending a decision on their claims in mid-2024. The main recipients of new individual applications were the USA (729,100), followed by Egypt (209,100) and Germany (121,400).

5. 22 per cent of refugees are hosted by the Least Developed Countries.

The Least Developed Countries consist of 45 countries, including Bangladesh, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen. Together, they account for 1 per cent of global gross domestic product, yet they host more than 22 per cent of all refugees worldwide. At mid-2024, the number of refugees in Least Developed Countries stood at 8.1 million.

How is UNHCR helping?

When people are forced to flee, UNHCR will be there. Working in over 137 countries, every day, across the world, UNHCR teams are helping displaced people reach safety and rebuild their lives. From emergency relief for civilians on the front lines of conflict, to delivering healthcare, education and livelihoods for families trapped in limbo when they can’t return home.

How can I help?

It’s easy to feel helpless when the numbers are damning – it can be really hard to read. But the situation is even harder for the 122.6 million people whose everyday lives consist of struggle: the struggle for shelter, education, food, water, medical assistance and to build a better future – but most importantly, safety.

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Visit the UNHCR website to read the latest Mid-Year Trends report.