The number of people who fled war, violence and persecution rose again in 2020 to more than 82 million despite the closing of borders and travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, the UN said on Friday.
Filippo Grandi, the UN refugee commissioner, said the number of people forced to flee their homes increased by 4 per cent, from 79.5 million at the end of 2019 to about 82.4 million at the end of last year, a record high.
The numbers of refugees and internally displaced people grew despite travel restrictions in more than 160 countries at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, UNHCR said in its annual report.
"We're talking about the year of Covid-19 – the year where we didn't move, where we were confined, locked down," Mr Grandi said in New York this week before the report's release.
“In spite of that, there are three million more people who have been compelled to flee because of war, because of discrimination, because of persecution and other forms of violence.”
By the end of 2020, UNHCR counted 20.7 million refugees globally, 4.1 million asylum seekers, 5.7 million Palestinian refugees, 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad and 48 million people uprooted within their own borders.
This represents a doubling of the number of people forcibly displaced over the past decade, Mr Grandi said.
This means that "1 per cent of humanity" have had to flee their homes, he said.
"In spite of appeals for a global ceasefire, in spite of peace efforts, redoubled in many places, conflicts have not ceased," Mr Grandi said.
"New conflicts have emerged and all conflicts continue to be unresolved. Think of Afghanistan, of Somalia, of Tigray. Think of displacement in the Sahara that has dramatically increased."
Syria remains the world’s top source for refugees, with 6.7 million Syrians having fled their homeland.
Other countries in the top five were Venezuela (4 million refugees), Afghanistan (2.6 million), South Sudan (2 million) and Myanmar (1.1 million).
Many of those uprooted are children. Girls and boys aged under 18 make up 42 per cent of those forcibly displaced around the world, and as many as one million children were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020, Mr Grandi said.
The agency’s annual report was released on Friday before World Refugee Day, which is held on June 20 each year.
The Afghan-Canadian artist Hangama Amiri, born a refugee in a camp in Pakistan, designed an emoji to mark this year's event.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
