The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) revealed that the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) reached an unprecedented level, with 110 countries and territories affected.

The trend has been steadily escalating over the past decade, as shown by the following figures: 33.3 million (2013), 37.9 million (2014), 40.5 million (2015), 39.9 million (2016), 40.4 million (2017), 41.4 million (2018), 50.8 million (2019), 55 million (2020), 59.2 million (2021), and the record-breaking 71.1 million (2022).

Among the displaced, a majority of 60.9 million individuals were uprooted by either conflicts and violence or natural disasters. Of this figure, 28.3 million people were displaced due to conflicts and violence, while 32.6 million were forced to flee their homes because of natural disasters.

Breaking down the internal displacement by region, the report revealed the following numbers for those displaced by conflicts and violence: Europe and Central Africa (17,051,000), Sub-Saharan Africa (9,027,000), South Asia (35,000), East Asia and Pacific (1,200,000), the Americas (533,000), and the Middle East and North Africa (482,000).

On the other hand, the breakdown for those displaced by natural disasters was as follows: Europe and Central Africa (107,000), Sub-Saharan Africa (7,449,000), South Asia (12,524,000), East Asia and Pacific (10,079,000), the Americas (2,097,000), and the Middle East and North Africa (305,000).

When analysing the causes of internal displacement, it becomes evident that natural disasters play a significant role. In 2022, a staggering 98 percent of disaster-induced displacements worldwide were triggered by weather-related hazards.

Weather-related disaster events alone accounted for 31,845,000 displacements, with floods (19,219,000) and storms, including cyclones (9,980,000), being the most prevalent. Additionally, droughts (2,215,000), wildfires (366,000), landslides (53,000), and extreme temperatures (12,000) contributed to the escalating number of people forced to leave their homes.

Geographical events were responsible for 716,000 internal displacements in 2022. This category included earthquakes (699,000), volcanic eruptions (13,000), and landslides (3,700).

Moreover, conflicts and violence continued to drive a substantial number of internal displacements in 2022, affecting 28.3 million individuals. The five most affected countries in terms of internally displaced persons were Ukraine (16.87 million), Congo (4.00 million), Ethiopia (1.00 million), Myanmar (1.00 million), and Somalia (6.21 million).