55m people internally displaced
Conflicts, natural disasters forced someone to flee in 2020
Conflicts and natural disasters forced someone to flee within their own country every second of 2020, pushing the number of people living in internal displacement to a record high, monitors said Thursday.
This came despite strict restrictions on movement imposed around the globe in efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19, which observers had expected to push down displacement numbers in 2020.
But 2020 was also marked by intense storms, persistent conflicts and explosions of violence, forcing 40.5 million people to become newly displaced within their countries, according to a joint report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
That is the highest number of newly displaced reported in 10 years, and brings the total number people living in internal displacement around the world to a record 55 million, the report showed.
"Both numbers this year were unusually high," said IDMC director Alexandra Bilak, noting the surge in internal displacement was "unprecedented."
The number of internally displaced people is now more than double the some 26 million people who have fled across borders as refugees.
"It's shocking that someone was forced to flee their home inside their own country every single second last year," NRC chief Jan Egeland said.
"We are failing to protect the world's most vulnerable people from conflict and disasters."
Bilak said it was "particularly concerning that these high figures were recorded against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Pointing out that movement restrictions obstructed data collection and "fewer people sought out emergency shelters for fear of infection," she suggested the true figures were higher.
The pandemic had meanwhile exacerbated socioeconomic conditions for displaced people, she said, warning that "those numbers may rise even more as countries go down further into an economic crisis."
The report found that three quarters of people who fled internally in 2020 were victims of natural disasters, in particular ones related to extreme weather. In addition, nearly 10 million of those newly displaced in 2020 were fleeing conflicts and violence, the report said.
All but 7 million of the 55 million people living in internal displacement at the end of 2020 had fled conflict, the report said.
This came despite strict restrictions on movement imposed around the globe in efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19, which observers had expected to push down displacement numbers in 2020.
But 2020 was also marked by intense storms, persistent conflicts and explosions of violence, forcing 40.5 million people to become newly displaced within their countries, according to a joint report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
That is the highest number of newly displaced reported in 10 years, and brings the total number people living in internal displacement around the world to a record 55 million, the report showed.
"Both numbers this year were unusually high," said IDMC director Alexandra Bilak, noting the surge in internal displacement was "unprecedented."
The number of internally displaced people is now more than double the some 26 million people who have fled across borders as refugees.
"It's shocking that someone was forced to flee their home inside their own country every single second last year," NRC chief Jan Egeland said.
"We are failing to protect the world's most vulnerable people from conflict and disasters."
Bilak said it was "particularly concerning that these high figures were recorded against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Pointing out that movement restrictions obstructed data collection and "fewer people sought out emergency shelters for fear of infection," she suggested the true figures were higher.
The pandemic had meanwhile exacerbated socioeconomic conditions for displaced people, she said, warning that "those numbers may rise even more as countries go down further into an economic crisis."
The report found that three quarters of people who fled internally in 2020 were victims of natural disasters, in particular ones related to extreme weather. In addition, nearly 10 million of those newly displaced in 2020 were fleeing conflicts and violence, the report said.
All but 7 million of the 55 million people living in internal displacement at the end of 2020 had fled conflict, the report said.
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