At the end of last year, according to a report by the UNHCR the number was 89 million – up 8% on 2020.
More than two thirds of all refugees and displaced people originated from just five countries in late 2021, while the top 10 countries of origin accounted for more than 80% of the global total.
Syria has the highest number of displaced people at 6.8 million.
Venezuelans are the second largest population if displaced people at 4.6 million.
The latest count of displaced Afghans totaled 2.7 million people, the third-highest in the world.
Meanwhile, violence, food shortages, and deteriorating conditions have been pushing South Sudanese to emigrate, their numbers rising from 2.2 million refugees in 2020 to 2.4 million at the end of 2021, almost all of whom are living in Uganda (958,900), Sudan (803,600), Ethiopia (386, 800) and Kenya (135,300), according to the UNHCR.
This chart does not yet reflect the Russia-Ukraine war. In 2022, Ukraine will become one the countries with the most refugees, with 5.1 million already having left the country as of mid-June
