War, violence, persecutions or climate change will force the world’s displaced people to reach an approximate number of 6.7 million. It is estimated that this number of people will have to leave their homes in the next two years, as warned last Friday by a prominent NGO from Denmark.
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) estimates that the number of forcibly displaced people, currently at 122.6 million, will increase significantly. Only in 2025, a “heartbreaking increase” of 4.2 million additional displaced people is expected. In addition, another 2.5 million forced displacements are estimated for 2026.
Almost half of the new displaced people will be linked to internal conflicts in Sudan and Myanmar, but this crisis will not be limited to these regions. Countries like Afghanistan, Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will also experience an increase in the number of displaced people due to armed conflicts, economic instability, climate change, and the ravages of previous wars.
## Reduction of International Aid: a moral crisis
Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, emphasized that this critical situation occurs in a context of “devastating” cuts in international aid by nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Slente denounced: “Major donors are abandoning their duty, leaving millions of people in unaddressed suffering. This is not just a crisis, it is a moral failure.”
Faced with this bleak outlook, the international community faces a monumental challenge to mitigate the growing displacement rates and assist those affected by these crises. The DRC report urges governments and international organizations to act urgently to address the needs of the displaced and restore funds for humanitarian aid.
## Displaced in the world: concerning numbers
Forced displacements (both within countries and internationally) reached historic levels worldwide last year, as revealed by the 2024 Global Trends Report of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), published in June 2024.
The global increase in forced displacements, up to 120 million in May 2024, was the twelfth consecutive annual increase and reflects both new and changing conflicts and the inability to resolve long-standing crises. The figure would make the world’s displaced population equivalent to approximately the population of Japan, the twelfth largest country in the world, noted the agency.
In 2023, children under 17 years old made up 40% of all forcibly displaced people worldwide.
*Cover photo: UNHCR/Eugene Sibomana*
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