World’s displaced hits record high of 60m

Almost 60 million people worldwide – the highest number ever recorded – were forcibly displaced from their homes due to war and persecution at the end of 2014, according to the UN’s refugee agency
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59.5m Forcibly displaced worldwide  

19.5m Refugees

38.2m IDPs

1.8m Asylum - seekers

8.3 million Increase in number of forcibly displaced people since 2013 (highest increase in single year)

13.9 million Number of individuals newly displaced in 2014. Includes 11 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) –highest figure on record – and 2.9 million refugees

42,500 Number of individuals forced to leave their homes per day due to conflict and persecution – four-fold increase since 2010

1.59m Number of refugees in Turkey – largest numberhosted by any country

53% Percentage of all refugees from just three countries –Syria (3.88m), Afghanistan (2.59m) and Somalia (1.11m)

126,800 Refugees returned to their country of origin in 2014 – lowest level of return since 1983

1.7 million Record number of individuals submitted applications for asylum or refugee status in 2014. Russia had most applications (274,700), followed by Germany (173,100)

105,200 Refugees admitted for resettlement by 26 countries. United States admitted highest number – 73,000

51% Percentage of refugee population in 2014 below 18 years of age – highest figure for more than 10 years

6.7m Displaced people across Europe in 2014, compared to 4.4 million in 2013 (increase of more than 50 percent)
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Source: UNHCR

Picture: Getty Images

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