Global Displacement and Conflict Driven Poverty

As of 2026, global humanitarian data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) shows that forced displacement and conflict-driven poverty remain near historic highs.

---

Key Displacement & Poverty Statistics

• Total Forcibly Displaced: 118.2 million people worldwide remain forcibly displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations.
• Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): Out of those displaced, 69.4 million are internally displaced within their own countries specifically due to conflict and armed violence.
• Refugees & Asylum-Seekers: 41.7 million refugees (including 6 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA's mandate) and 8.6 million asylum-seekers remain exiled across borders.
• Children Impacted: Children make up roughly 39% of all refugees worldwide, suffering severe disruptions to education, safety, and basic living standards.

---

Armed Conflict and Severe Poverty

Armed conflict remains the single largest driver of acute economic collapse and poverty globally:

• Concentrated Severe Hunger & Poverty: Approximately 70% of refugees live in protracted long-term displacement, mostly in low- and middle-income host nations where access to labor markets and financial services is severely restricted. More than two-thirds of global acute food insecurity is concentrated in conflict-affected regions.
• Major Crises Driving Poverty:
  • Sudan: The ongoing civil conflict has created the world's largest internal displacement crisis (9.1 million IDPs and 2.8 million refugees), pushing millions into extreme hunger and economic collapse.
  • South Sudan: Driven by a decade of conflict and renewed hostilities, nearly 84% of the population (9.9 million people) requires emergency humanitarian assistance, pushing the country toward universal poverty.
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) & Gaza: Continued combat operations and destruction of critical civil infrastructure have left 14.9 million people in DRC and 3.6 million across the Occupied Palestinian Territories dependent on external humanitarian assistance.