The number of people displaced worldwide by conflict and persecution fell in 2025 for ​the first time in a decade, but levels of refugees facing long-term displacement remain unacceptably high, a U.N. ‌refugee agency report said on Thursday.

Last year, 5.4 million people fled their homes, bringing the total number of refugees or people in refugee-like situations worldwide to 41.6 million, including 6 million Palestinian refugees, UNHCR said.

At the same time, around 14.7 million refugees and internally displaced people returned home, a ​50% increase on the previous year and the second-highest figure recorded since 1965, the agency found.

Most returns were to ​six countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Myanmar.

However, many returned ⁠to difficult conditions marked by limited access to basic services, widespread infrastructure damage and ongoing insecurity, raising concerns over the sustainability ​and safety of their return, UNHCR said.

About 2.9 million Afghans returned in 2025, including 1.9 million refugees – five times higher than the previous ​year – driven mainly by stricter policies in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, with many reporting they had little choice but to leave, UNHCR found.

This sharp rise reduced the global Afghan refugee population from 5.8 million in 2024 to 3.7 million in 2025, the report said.

Syria, which had been one of ​the world’s largest displacement crises for more than a decade, saw around 1.3 million people return in 2025 – nearly triple the ​previous year – following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. This reduced the global Syrian refugee population from 6 million to 4.9 million ‌by the ⁠end of 2025.

“However, many returnees face serious challenges, including insecurity, widespread destruction, weak economic conditions, limited services and jobs, and continued sporadic violence in parts of the country,” the report said.

The report noted that the crisis in the Middle East has already shaped global displacement trends in 2026. Around 3.2 million people have been temporarily displaced in Iran since joint U.S.-Israeli strikes at the end ​of February, while about one million ​people have been forced from ⁠their homes in Lebanon since the start of the war on March 2, amid Israeli strikes and evacuation orders, UNHCR said.

HALVING REFUGEE NUMBERS

UNHCR says it aims to halve the number of refugees ​and others in protracted displacement requiring humanitarian assistance by 2035, by supporting job creation and education ​opportunities, particularly in ⁠low- and middle-income countries where most refugees are hosted.

Globally, 70% of refugees have been in exile for five years or more, often in countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iran.

“Asylum and protection are life-saving and not up for debate, but we cannot accept a ⁠future in ​which millions of refugees remain trapped for years or decades without realistic ​prospects of rebuilding their lives,” said UNHCR High Commissioner Barham Salih.

Part of the initiative includes promoting voluntary returns, as well as enabling refugees to access education and ​employment in host countries so they can financially support themselves and become less aid-dependent.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in a statement, announced that it has summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul and conveyed its “strong and firm” protest over the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and the bombing of civilian homes.

According to the statement, Pakistan’s military regime once again blatantly violated Afghanistan’s airspace on Tuesday night and bombed civilian homes in parts of Khost, Paktika, and Kunar provinces.

As a result, 11 children, one woman, and one elderly man were killed, while 14 other civilians, including women and children, were injured.

The foreign ministry added that the Islamic Emirate considers this attack and act of human rights violation a clear breach of international principles and laws. The IEA strongly condemned the incident and once again emphasized that defending its territory and ensuring the security of its people is its religious responsibility.

The ministry stated that the Pakistani side must understand that instead of pursuing proxy policies, it should fundamentally resolve its internal problems.

The statement read: “How is it possible that killing children and women in one land could mean ensuring the security of another?”

The ministry further stated that Pakistan’s army will bear full responsibility for all consequences of these repeated and provocative actions.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice has announced that the procedure governing the mobilization, collection, and distribution of assistance for migrants returning to Afghanistan has been published in the Official Gazette following its approval by the leader of the Islamic Emirate.

According to the ministry, the procedure consists of an introduction, three chapters, four sections, and 14 articles, and will be implemented by central and provincial committees responsible for mobilizing, collecting, and distributing aid to returning migrants.

The document outlines the composition and authorities of the central and provincial committees, as well as the mechanisms for soliciting, collecting, registering, storing, and distributing cash, in-kind, and service-based assistance. It also specifies oversight measures for aid distribution and restrictions related to the receipt and allocation of assistance.

Under the new procedure, the central committee is tasked with preparing lists of donors and the needs of returning migrants, and formally engaging with domestic donors and Afghans living abroad to attract additional support.

The Ministry of Justice added that the procedure also defines the methods for mobilizing aid and prohibits the collection of domestic assistance outside official channels, as well as the receipt of foreign assistance in violation of the laws and principles of the Islamic Emirate and the provisions of the procedure.

The ministry further noted that the same issue of the Official Gazette includes a decree by the leader of the Islamic Emirate dissolving the Directorate for the Review of Residential Affairs under the General Directorate of Administrative Affairs and transferring its responsibilities to the Supreme Court.