War, natural disasters left record 71 million people internally displaced in 2022, report says
The war in Ukraine helped push the global total of people left internally displaced by conflict or natural disasters to a record high of 71.1 million last year, according to a report released Thursday by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
By the end of 2022, 5.9 million people had been forced to move inside Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion, bringing the global total of people internally displaced by conflict and violence to more than 62 million, an increase of 17% since 2021. Syria had 6.8 million displaced by conflict after more than a decade of civil war.
Lefteris Pitarakis, Associated Press
Syrians walk in a camp for internally displaced people in al-Bab, northern Syria, in 2018. The war in Ukraine helped push the global total of people left internally displaced by conflict or natural disasters to a record high of 71.1 million last year, according to a report released May 11.
The number of people displaced inside their country at the end of the year because of disasters like floods and famine reached 8.7 million, up by 45% from 2021.
The total of 71.1 million internally displaced worldwide was a 20% increase since 2021.
Internal displacement refers to people forced to move inside their own borders and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre’s report didn’t take into account those who left for different countries.
Following a year when conflict raged in Ukraine, Syria, Ethiopia and elsewhere, there has been no respite in 2023.
The United Nations migration agency said this week that 700,000 people have already been internally displaced in a matter of weeks by the conflict in Sudan between the army and a rival paramilitary group.
Mulugeta Ayene, Associated Press
Pastoralist women and children displaced by drought collect water in Gode, in the Somali region of Ethiopia, on Jan. 27, 2018.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre cited the La Niña weather phenomenon, which continued for a third consecutive year in 2022, as a major factor in disaster displacements. It contributed to record levels of flood displacement in Pakistan, Nigeria and Brazil and to the worst drought on record in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, the report said.
There was a “perfect storm” of conflict and natural disasters in 2022, leading to “displacement on a scale never seen before,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMarkus Schreiber
FILE - Refugees wait in a crowd for transportation after fleeing from the Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Markus SchreiberFILE - Refugees wait in a crowd for transportation after fleeing from the Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warSergei Grits
FILE - Refugees wait in a line after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, April 7, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
Sergei GritsFILE - Refugees wait in a line after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, April 7, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warBernat Armangue
FILE - Displaced Ukrainians onboard a Poland bound train in Lviv, western Ukraine, Sunday, March 13, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
Bernat ArmangueFILE - Displaced Ukrainians onboard a Poland bound train in Lviv, western Ukraine, Sunday, March 13, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warPetr David Josek
FILE - Refugees fleeing conflict in neighboring Ukraine arrive to in Przemysl, Poland, Feb. 27, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
Petr David JosekFILE - Refugees fleeing conflict in neighboring Ukraine arrive to in Przemysl, Poland, Feb. 27, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warVisar Kryeziu
FILE - Ukrainian volunteer Oleksandr Osetynskyi, 44 holds a Ukrainian flag and directs hundreds of refugees after fleeing from the Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, Monday, March 7, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu, File)
Visar KryeziuFILE - Ukrainian volunteer Oleksandr Osetynskyi, 44 holds a Ukrainian flag and directs hundreds of refugees after fleeing from the Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, Monday, March 7, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu, File)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
Ukrainian refugee hangs up the towel at a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukUkrainian refugee hangs up the towel at a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
Maryna Ptashnyk, a Ukrainian refugee, reacts during an interview with The Associated Press at a flat in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Ptashnyk a woman from the Carpathian mountains now lives alone with their 3-year-old daughter, Polina, in a small suburban Warsaw apartment as her husband serves in a Ukrainian artillery unit. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukMaryna Ptashnyk, a Ukrainian refugee, reacts during an interview with The Associated Press at a flat in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Ptashnyk a woman from the Carpathian mountains now lives alone with their 3-year-old daughter, Polina, in a small suburban Warsaw apartment as her husband serves in a Ukrainian artillery unit. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
Anastasia Lasna, a Ukrainian refugee from Mykolaiv, gestures as she talks inside a distribution center at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Last January, Anastasia Lasna was planning to open her own bakery in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after finding success with providing other businesses with her vegan foods and healthy deserts. Today she is running a food pantry of the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, which has helped some 200,000 Ukrainian refugees, and integrating herself into the southern Polish city's growing Jewish community. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukAnastasia Lasna, a Ukrainian refugee from Mykolaiv, gestures as she talks inside a distribution center at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Last January, Anastasia Lasna was planning to open her own bakery in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after finding success with providing other businesses with her vegan foods and healthy deserts. Today she is running a food pantry of the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, which has helped some 200,000 Ukrainian refugees, and integrating herself into the southern Polish city's growing Jewish community. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
Anastasia Lasna, a Ukrainian refugee from Mykolaiv, shows a picture of her daughter during an interview with The Associated Press at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukAnastasia Lasna, a Ukrainian refugee from Mykolaiv, shows a picture of her daughter during an interview with The Associated Press at the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
Ukrainian children attend classes at the Polish Center for International Aid Foundation educational facility in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukUkrainian children attend classes at the Polish Center for International Aid Foundation educational facility in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
Ukrainian refugees rest at a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukUkrainian refugees rest at a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
A young Ukrainian girl reflects in a window as she plays at a counselling center run in sponsorship with UNICEF to support refugees in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukA young Ukrainian girl reflects in a window as she plays at a counselling center run in sponsorship with UNICEF to support refugees in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
A woman from Ukraine poses for a picture at counselling center run in sponsorship with UNICEF to support refugees in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukA woman from Ukraine poses for a picture at counselling center run in sponsorship with UNICEF to support refugees in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warMichal Dyjuk
A woman from Kherson, center, who insisted on anonymity speaks to AP correspondent Vanessa Gera, right, and a translator during an interview with The Associated Press at a counselling center run in sponsorship with UNICEF to support refugees in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
Michal DyjukA woman from Kherson, center, who insisted on anonymity speaks to AP correspondent Vanessa Gera, right, and a translator during an interview with The Associated Press at a counselling center run in sponsorship with UNICEF to support refugees in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warCzarek Sokolowski
FILE - Refugees from Ukraine arrive at the railway station in Przemysl, Poland, Feb. 27, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)
Czarek SokolowskiFILE - Refugees from Ukraine arrive at the railway station in Przemysl, Poland, Feb. 27, 2022. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions of people fleeing across Ukraine's border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)
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Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace, after year of warBernat Armangue
FILE - A girl catches snowflakes on her tongue as she waits with others to board a train to Poland, at Lviv railway station in Ukraine, Feb. 27, 2022, in Lviv, west Ukraine. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
Bernat ArmangueFILE - A girl catches snowflakes on her tongue as she waits with others to board a train to Poland, at Lviv railway station in Ukraine, Feb. 27, 2022, in Lviv, west Ukraine. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
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