The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on Thursday that, for the first time in a decade, global forced displacement decreased in 2025. However, the figures remain significantly high, as millions of people continue to endure prolonged exile and face dire humanitarian conditions without prospects for rebuilding their lives.

According to a report ordered by High Commissioner Barham Salih, the number of global refugees fell by three percent in 2025. The main factor behind this decline was the increase in the number of displaced people and refugees returning to their home countries, with high rates recorded in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan.

At 14.7 million, returns of refugees and displaced persons reached their second-highest level in 60 years of record keeping. However, the agency warned that many of these returns occurred under pressure and in precarious conditions, violating national and international human rights standards.

Salih stressed that this decline in the number of refugees should not overshadow the persistent need for humanitarian aid for millions who are still living in prolonged exile below the poverty line. He also noted a sharp drop in resettlement rates, highlighting a growing gap between available new homes and the needs of the 41.6 million global refugees.

Salih emphasized that there is an urgent need to implement new measures to lessen the dependence of refugees and displaced people on humanitarian assistance to survive. To address this, he announced that the UNHCR aims to reduce by more than half the number of refugees who rely on humanitarian aid over the next decade by expanding opportunities for voluntary returns, humanitarian visas, and providing access to financial services and education as well as labor markets, to allow them to become self-reliant.

Finally, Salih concluded: “Asylum and protection are lifesaving and not up for debate, but we cannot accept a future in which millions of refugees remain trapped for years or decades without realistic prospects of rebuilding their lives.”

The escalation of armed conflicts and wars has caused global displacement and refugee crises in many regions across the world, including Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria. According to the UN, there were 117.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2025, fleeing violence, human rights abuses, and armed conflicts. On top of living in dire humanitarian conditions, refugees have been subject to human trafficking and other rights violations, including murder and violent attacks by armed groups. Furthermore, in June 2025, the UNHCR warned that while forced displacement has doubled in the last decade, humanitarian organizations have faced increased financial cuts, which significantly reduces their ability to meet refugees’ needs.