An unprecedented 75.9 million individuals found themselves living in internal displacement by the close of 2023, as revealed by the latest report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). With nearly 47 million new internal displacements recorded within the same year, the urgency to safeguard internally displaced people and prevents future displacements has reached critical levels.
“The staggering figure of 47 million new internal displacements paints a harrowing picture as our planet grapples with conflicts and disasters,” emphasized Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Daniels underscores the report’s significance as a stark reminder of the imperative for urgent and coordinated efforts to expand disaster risk reduction, support peace building, uphold human rights, and, whenever feasible, pre-empt displacement altogether.
CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE: A MAJOR DRIVER OF DISPLACEMENT
The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) reveals that conflict and violence were responsible for triggering 20.5 million displacements. Sudan, contributing nearly 30 percent, and the Gaza strip, with 17 percent (3.4 million), were among the prominent hotspots, particularly in the final quarter of the year.
THE TOLL OF NATURAL DISASTERS: A CONTINUING CHALLENGE
Disasters continue to uproot millions annually. In 2023, events like cyclone Freddy in south-eastern Africa, earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, and cyclone Mocha in the Indian Ocean spurred 26.4 million movements, constituting 56 percent of the total new internal displacements. Notably, even high-income nations weren’t immune, exemplified by Canada, where an unprecedented wildfire season forced 185,000 internal displacements.
CLIMATE CHANGE: AMPLIFYING THE CRISIS
As climate change exacerbates the frequency, duration, and intensity of natural hazards, the number of people displaced by disasters is poised to escalate. Recent tragedies in Brazil and Kenya serve as stark reminders of this reality, underscoring the urgent need for proactive measures to mitigate such outcomes.
BRIDGING KNOWLEDGE GAPS: A CRUCIAL IMPERATIVE
Despite confronting daunting challenges, significant knowledge gaps persist, hindering effective responses to internal displacement crises. The international community requires comprehensive data to grasp, prevent, manage, and address internal displacement within conflict and disaster contexts.
THE REPORT: A BEACON OF INSIGHT AND ACTION
The Global Report on Internal Displacement emerges as an invaluable resource for humanitarian and development partners, governments, and diverse stakeholder groups. Armed with its insights, they can navigate existing displacements, while fortifying their preparedness to tackle future crises head-on.
REGIONAL
- Sub-Saharan Africa, which hosts 46 per cent of the world’s IDPs, was again the region most affected by internal displacement in 2023. Conflict and disasters overlapped in many countries, forcing people to flee again and/or prolonging their displacement.
- The conflict in Palestine contributed to an eight-fold increase in conflict displacements in the Middle East and North Africa in 2023 after three years of consecutive decreases. Disaster displacement figures were also the highest ever reported for the region, largely the result of earthquakes and floods.
- East Asia and the Pacific recorded the highest number of disaster displacements globally, although the figure was the lowest since 2017. Conflict displacement there increased for the third year running, mostly the result of the situation in Myanmar.
- Conflict and disasters triggered 47 per cent fewer displacements than the average of the past decade in South Asia, although disasters still uprooted millions of people from their homes.
- Severe storms in the Americas triggered fewer than half the displacements recorded in 2022 and fewer than a quarter of the annual average since 2015. Conflict and violence triggered the largest number of movements in the region since records began in 2009, with Colombia and Haiti accounting for 85 per cent of the total.
- Europe and Central Asia recorded by far its highest number of disaster displacements in 2023. The earthquakes in Türkiye accounted for most of them, but wildfire, storm and flood displacements also increased around the Mediterranean basin. Almost all of the conflict displacements recorded in the region were associated with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.