2016 in Review TRENDS AT A GLANCE By the end of 2016, 65.6 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. That was an increase of 300,000 people over the previous year, and the world’s forcibly displaced population remained at a record high. 65.6 MILLION FORCIBLY DISPLACED WORLDWIDE as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations 22.5 million people who were refugees at end-2016 17.2 million under UNHCR’s mandate 5.3 million Palestinian refugees registered by UNRWA 40.3 million internally displaced people 1 2.8 million asylum-seekers 10 10.3 MILLION PEOPLE MILLION NEWLY DISPLACED During the year, 10.3 million people were newly displaced by conflict or persecution. This included 6.9 million individuals displaced within the borders of their own countries 2 and 3.4 million new refugees and new asylum-seekers. 3 Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee Council. 2 Ibid. 3 The number of newly displaced refugees includes only those who have been recognized on a group or prima facie basis. 4 Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision (2015 estimate used). See: https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/. 5 These figures refer only to refugees under UNHCR’s mandate. 1 2 20 NEW DISPLACEMENTS EVERY MINUTE UNHCR estimated that at least 10 million people were stateless or at risk of statelessness in 2016. However, data captured by governments and reported to UNHCR were limited to 3.2 million stateless individuals in 75 countries. The number of new displacements was equivalent to 20 people being forced to flee their homes every minute of 2016. 84% 51% Children below 18 years of age constituted about half of the refugee population in 2016, as in recent years. Children make up an estimated 31 per cent of the total world population.4 Developing regions hosted 84 per cent of the world’s refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, with about 14.5 million people. The least developed countries provided asylum to a growing proportion, with 28 per cent of the global total (4.9 million refugees). UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2016