War, violence and other humanitarian emergencies forced about 79.5 million people out of their homes in 2019—almost double the number of people displaced a decade ago—according to a report by United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The Global Trends Report said this number represents one in every 97 people on the planet.

In terms of the ages of those affected, the UN agency estimates that around 30 to 34 million of the refugees are children. The report shows that 8.7 million people were newly displaced in 2019 alone, with developing countries worst hit.

“This is almost 80 million figure, the highest that UNHCR has recorded since these statistics have been systematically collected, is of great concern. This is approximately one per cent of the world’s population, we have never reached this very significant percentage”, said Filippo Grandi, UNHCR High Commissioner.

Of the nearly 80 million people cited in the report, 26 million are refugees; an estimated 20.4 million people are in areas served by UNHCR’s mandate; another 5.6 million people are Palestine refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Speaking in Geneva on June 25, the UNHCR chief noted that although the issue of displacement affects all nations, data showed that it was poorer countries that hosted 85 per cent of those forced from their home.

“In spite of the rhetoric in favour of reduction of displacement, this continues to be a global issue for all states, but one that challenges most directly the poorer countries, not the richer countries,” said Mr Grandi.

Some of the regions that have witnessed mass displacement include South Sudan, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, the wider Sahel, and Syria after nearly a decade of civil war.

Mr Grandi said at least 73 per cent of the 79.5 million refugees sought shelter in a country neighbouring their own.

According to the UNHCR, "this disproves the regularly politicised misconception that most migrants and refugees target richer countries far from home."

Nearly seven out of 10 people of those displaced came from Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar, the report added.

“If crises in these countries were solved, 68 per cent of global forced displacement would be on its way to being solved”, he said.

In the wake of the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN refugee agency has also reported an increase in the number of Rohingya refugees moving from Bangladesh and Myanmar, towards Malaysia and other States in South East Asia.