The UN’s refugee agency reports that nearly 118 million people are displaced worldwide due to conflict and persecution, based on figures for 2025. The agency says the number of people forced to leave their homes because of conflict or persecution falls in 2025 for the first time in a decade, marking a shift from years of rising displacement linked to wars, instability and targeted violence.
Across the reporting, the headline figure is consistent: the total global count of people displaced by these causes is close to 118 million. The sources also agree on the direction of the change, describing 2025 as the first year in ten with a decline in forced displacement related to conflict and persecution.
The reports do not detail the breakdown by country or the specific drivers behind the overall decrease, focusing instead on the global total and the broader trend highlighted by the UN refugee agency.
