A Turning Point in Forced Displacement: IDMC 2025 Report Exposes Global Crisis

The 10th edition of the Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID), published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), reveals a global crisis by showing that the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) reached a striking 83.4 million at the end of 2024. This figure is more than twice the number reported in the first GRID report ten years ago and clearly demonstrates the alarming extent of internal displacement.

According to IDMC’s 2025 report, the root causes of this record level of displacement are conflicts and violence, as well as natural disasters. In 2024, 73.5 million people were displaced due to conflict and violence, while the number of people displaced by natural disasters reached 9.8 million, the highest figures ever recorded in both categories. Countries grappling with long-standing crises, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen, recorded their highest ever numbers of IDPs in 2024.

Internal displacements related to natural disasters also reached a record high in 2024, and many countries reported their highest figures in this area. In particular, the United States witnessed more than 11 million displacements due to mass evacuations caused by major hurricanes. While most of the 45.8 million disaster-related displacements recorded worldwide were government-led preemptive evacuations, this continues to create significant human and financial costs that could be reduced with further investments in preparedness and disaster risk reduction.

The fact that the number of people living in internal displacement has doubled since 2018, reaching 83.4 million in 117 countries and territories at the end of 2024, is a cause for global concern. Recent conflicts in countries and territories such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, and Ukraine are among the main reasons for the increase in the number of IDPs. These new displacements add to the long-standing displacement problems in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Syria, and Yemen. The impact of disasters on housing and livelihoods has also prevented many people from finding lasting solutions and left them still displaced at the end of the year.

The IDMC report emphasizes that humanitarian aid alone will not suffice to reduce the scale of displacement. To provide IDPs with sustainable solutions, governments need to establish policies and take actions that resolve conflicts and build peace, reduce poverty and disaster risk, and enable people to return, resettle, or integrate locally in host communities. Data on displacement and solutions will continue to play a key role in shaping these policies and actions in the future.

Regionally, Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 19.3 million new internal displacements in 2024, continuing the trend of previous years and accounting for a higher number than any other region. Most of the newly displaced people added to the existing displaced population, which reached a record 38.8 million at the end of the year, representing approximately 46 percent of the global total. All 23 countries that recorded conflict-related displacement also experienced disaster-related displacement, sometimes affecting the same people, as in Nigeria’s Borno state.

In the Middle East, the number of conflict- and violence-related internal displacements increased significantly following the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip after October 7, 2023. This trend continued in 2024, with more than 3.2 million displacements recorded in Palestine throughout the year. However, given the significant data gaps, this figure is considered a substantial underestimate. Attacks on areas where people were fleeing also led to further displacement. At the end of the year, approximately 2 million people were still displaced, a figure in line with the previous year and a stark indicator that almost the entire population of Gaza had already been displaced by the end of 2023.

In the East Asia and Pacific region, after a decline between 2019 and 2022 due to El Niño-related dry conditions, the number of disaster-related displacements reached its highest level since 2016, at 14.8 million in 2024. Powerful typhoons that hit densely populated countries such as the Philippines and China triggered the majority of these displacements.

In South Asia, following El Niño-related dry conditions in 2023, the number of disaster-related displacements nearly tripled in 2024, reaching 9.2 million. This figure is the second highest for the region in more than a decade and represents approximately a quarter of the global total. The combination of storms and monsoon floods led to some of the highest figures in recent years in countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and India.

In the Americas, the number of internal displacements reached a record high of 14.5 million in 2024, exceeding the total for the previous five years combined. Of these, 13 million were disaster-related, and 1.5 million were conflict- and violence-related. The United States reported the highest number, with 11 million disaster-related displacements, accounting for approximately a quarter of the global total, mainly due to mass evacuations caused by major hurricanes.

In Europe and Central Asia, 846,000 internal displacements were recorded in 2024. Of these, 358,000 were disaster-related, the second-highest figure on record for the region, mostly caused by weather-related hazards such as storms, floods, and wildfires. Ten countries reported their highest disaster-related displacement numbers since data became available, with Kazakhstan experiencing its worst floods in 80 years.

In conclusion, the striking data presented in IDMC’s 2025 Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) clearly demonstrates that internal displacement is a growing global humanitarian crisis. To prevent these displacements triggered by conflicts, violence, and natural disasters and to enable displaced people to find lasting solutions, it is crucial for the international community and governments to take more decisive and coordinated action. Data-driven policies and risk reduction strategies will play a critical role in addressing this complex issue.