Statistics for forcibly displaced and all other people protected/
assisted by UNHCR
This report’s main focus is the analysis of
changes and trends in forced displacement
from January to December 2022 among
people covered by UNHCR’s mandate.9
The data presented are based on
information received as of 31 May 2023
unless otherwise indicated.
At the end of 2022, the number of
forcibly displaced people worldwide
was estimated at 108.4 million.10 This
figure encompasses refugees (including
refugees who are not covered by
UNHCR’s mandate), asylum-seekers,
internally displaced people and other
people in need of international protection.
OTHER PEOPLE IN NEED OF
INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION
The category “Other people in need
of international protection” was first
introduced in mid-2022 reporting11
and refers to:
“People who are outside their country
or territory of origin, typically because
they have been forcibly displaced
across international borders, who
have not been reported under other
categories (asylum-seekers, refugees,
people in refugee-like situations) but
who likely need international
protection, including protection
against forced return, as well as
access to basic services on a
temporary or longer-term basis.”
UNHCR also estimates the population
that UNHCR protects and/or assists. This
includes those who have been forcibly
displaced (refugees, asylum-seekers,
internally displaced people and other
people in need of international protection);
those who have returned home within the
previous year; those who are stateless
(most of whom are not forcibly displaced);
and other groups to whom UNHCR has
extended its protection or provided
assistance on a humanitarian basis.
At the end of 2022 this figure stood
at 112.6 million people.
These two categorizations are compared
graphically below. A detailed breakdown of
the population that UNHCR protects and/or
assists is provided in Annex Tables 1 - 23 by
category and country.
The figures in this report are based on
data reported by governments, nongovernmental organizations and UNHCR.
Numbers are rounded to the closest
hundred or thousand. As some adjustments
may appear later in the year in the Refugee
Data Finder,12 figures contained in this
report should be considered as provisional
and subject to change. Unless otherwise
specified, the report does not refer to
events occurring after 31 December 2022.
9 See the Methodology page of UNHCR’s Refugee Data Finder for a definition of each population group.
10 The total number of people forcibly displaced is calculated using UNHCR, UNRWA and IDMC statistics.
11 The new category refers to people who have not been reported under other categories, and includes Venezuelans previously designated
as “Venezuelans displaced abroad (VDA)”. This change has been made retroactively in UNHCR’s statistics since 2018. The term VDA will no
longer be used.
12 See: UNHCR’s Refugee Data Finder.
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UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2022