The number of internal displacements triggered by conflict or violence around the world reached a record high in 2025, surpassing disaster-driven displacements for the first time, according to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). By the end of 2025, there were 32.3 million conflict-driven internal displacements, 60% higher than the previous year and exceeding the 29.9 million disaster-driven displacements.
Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described the figures as a “sign of a global collapse” in basic civilian protection. “Countless families are returning to destroyed homes and disappearing services – or cannot return at all. From DR Congo and Sudan to Iran and Lebanon, we see millions more displaced on top of the previous record numbers,” he added.
Internal displacements refer to each new instance a person is forced to flee within their own country’s borders; the same person can be displaced multiple times. The IDMC’s Global Report on Internal Displacement also shows that the number of people displaced during 2025 or earlier but still remaining displaced remains high.
In total, 82.2 million people were displaced in 2025, the second-highest figure after the 2024 peak of 83.5 million and the first decrease in 20 years of data collection. However, the report warns the decline “should not be mistaken for progress,” as behind the numbers lie “hundreds of thousands of forced returns, destroyed infrastructure and deepening social and environmental pressures” making durable solutions unrealistic.
Over 83% of those displaced in 2025 were forced to flee due to conflict and violence, with the remainder due to natural disasters. Nearly half of all conflict-displaced people were in Sudan, Colombia, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan. Sudan accounted for the largest number of internally displaced people for the third consecutive year.
The record conflict-driven displacements result from new international conflicts and intensified existing ones. In 2025, 46% of violence-induced internal displacements were linked to international armed conflicts, nearly double the previous year. Iran and the DRC accounted for two-thirds of all conflict-driven internal displacements in 2025.
Source: www.theguardian.com