Internal displacements caused by violence or conflict at record high in 2025

The number of internal displacements triggered by conflict or violence around the world reached a record high in 2025, surpassing the number of disaster-driven internal displacements for the first time. A report published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) shows that by the end of 2025 there were 32.3m conflict-driven internal displacements. That is 60% higher than those recorded the previous year, and – for the first time since data collection began in 2008 – above displacements driven by natural disasters, which reached 29.9m in 2025. Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described the figures as a “sign of a global collapse” in basic protection of civilians. “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 driven out of their homes,” he added. A chart showing a breakdown of recorded internal displacements globally by cause since 2009, with conflict driving an increasing number and proportion of internal displacements Internal displacements refer to each new instance that a person is forced to flee within the borders of their own country. The same person can be displaced several times. The IDMC’s Global Report on Internal Displacement also shows that the number of people displaced – during 2025 or earlier but who still remain displaced – remains high. …