Fig.12 IDPs protected/assisted by UNHCR  Includes people in an IDP-like situation since 2007 in millions 14.7 15.6 15.5 2010 17.7 14.4 Global number of conflict-generated IDPsa 23.9 13.7 5.1 4.0 12.8 1995 4.6 4.3 6.0 2000 4.9 6.6 2005 32.3 5.4 5.1 4.2 4.6 individuals, nearly 10 per cent of the country’s population, within one year. Prior to the escalation of the conflict in 2015, humanitarian needs were acute in Yemen, as one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. The rise in displacement in the country is dramatic when compared with the internally displaced population at the start of 2015, which consisted of about 330,000 people in a protracted situation in a few northern governorates. Other countries that reported large numbers of new IDPs included Iraq (808,700), Ukraine (800,000), Sudan (639,500), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (637,900), and Afghanistan (492,600). These six countries combined accounted for 84 per cent of all new IDPs during 2015. In Colombia, few IDPs returned to their habitual residences, and the Government reported 113,700 newly displaced people. With other adjustments to the IDP population made at year-end, the total number of IDPs in that country thus rose to 6.9 million at the end of 2015, compared to 6.0 million31 reported during 2014. As a consequence, Colombia had the world’s largest internally displaced population at the end of 2015. The estimated total number of IDPs in the Syrian Arab Republic declined from 7.6 million in 2014 to 6.6 million in 2015, partly due to some displaced people crossing international borders to seek protection outside the country. The Syrian Arab Republic therefore had the second largest IDP population. More than five years of civil war and armed conflict in the country have directly contributed to one of the largest displacement crises in recent history. 30 UNHCR Global Trends 2015 2015 37.5 40.8 a Source: IDMC By the end of 2015, the total number of IDPs in Iraq stood at 4.4 million, compared to 3.6 million reported at the end of 2014. Thus, Iraq continues to have the third-largest number of IDPs. The escalation of armed conflict across the country’s central governorates, which began in 2014 with the rise of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) and other non-State armed groups, has resulted in new and secondary movements of IDPs across central Iraq and the country’s Kurdistan region. Despite restricted access to IDP locations, UNHCR maintained its humanitarian commitment to providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of individuals in Iraq. Of the 4.4 million IDPs reported in that country at the end of 2015, 1.1 million received UNHCR assistance. During 2015, 152,700 IDPs in Sudan were able to return to their habitual residences. However, as a result of renewed conflicts and insecurity, the total number of IDPs in the country rose to some 3.2 million IDPs at the end of 2015, compared to 2.1 million a year earlier. Similarly, the violence and human rights abuses in northern Nigeria have continued throughout 2015, with the insurgency entering its sixth year. As a consequence, the total number of IDPs in the country rose from approximately 1.2 million at the end of 2014 to approximately 2.2 million by the end of 2015, an increase of around 964,000 (81%) concentrated especially in the north-east of the country. 31 The figures for displaced person in Colombia were provided by the RNI Victims’ Unit in Colombia. See http://rni.unidadvictimas. gov.co/RUV.