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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULTS
2.15pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Shawall, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Majed Al Jahouri (trainer)
2.45pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Anna Bella Aa, Fabrice Veron, Abdelkhir Adam
3.15pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
3.45pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner Taajer, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
4.15pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner Jawaal, Jim Crowley, Majed Al Jahouri
4.45pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Maqaadeer, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
