42,500 people ‘forced to flee their homes’ every day of 2014

The number of people forced to flee their homes because of war, conflict or persecution has reached a record high of almost 60 million, a major international report has revealed. An average of 42,500 men, women and children became refugees, asylum seekers or were displaced in their own countries every day last year, a study by the United Nations agency UNHCR found. Researchers said it meant that one in every 122 people on the planet were either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum.

Behind these shocking statistics are the tragic stories of men, women and children who have been uprooted and driven from their homes, leaving behind everything they hold dear.

Refugee Council chief executive Maurice Wren.

At the end of 2014, the number of people who had been displaced stood at 59.5 million - a rise of 8.3 million compared to the previous year. The annual increase was the highest recorded. The UNHCR’s global trends report showed that 13.9 million individuals became newly displaced in 2014. Worldwide there were 19.5 million refugees - up from 16.7 million in 2013; 38.2 million were displaced inside their own countries - up from 33.3 million in 2013, and 1.8 million people were awaiting the outcome of claims for asylum - compared to 1.2 million the previous year. More than half of the refugees were children.

World Global displacement