On May 13, 2025, the Geneva (Switzerland) based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and Oslo (Norway) based Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) released the Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) 2025 which presents a comprehensive analysis of internal displacement trends worldwide.
- The report revealed that the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) worldwide reached a record high of 83.4 million by the end of 2024, marking the highest figure ever recorded and a doubling of the total since 2018.
- In India, the total number of displacements reached 5.4 million in 2024, the highest figure in 12 years.
Note: An internal displacement is a forced movement recorded during the year. The same person can be forced to move multiple times, and we count each one.
Key Findings of GRID 2025:
1.Conflict-Driven Displacement:
i.In 2024, conflict and violence accounted for nearly 90% (73.5 million) of all internal displacements, an 80% rise since 2018, making them the leading factors behind the increase in displaced populations.
ii.Sudan, topped the list with 11.6 million IDPs, the highest ever in a single country due to civil war.
iii.Other affected nations such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, and Myanmar each hosted over 3 million IDPs.
2.Disasters and Climate Impact:
i.Disaster caused 45.8 million displacements in 2024, the highest since IDMC began tracking in 2008.
ii.Floods caused 42% of disaster displacements, affecting Chad, Afghanistan, Brazil, and Europe.
iii.Cyclones like Dana and Remal in India triggered 1.6 million displacements.
3.India’s Displacement Scenario:
i.Floods responsible for 66% of displacements, including 2.5 million in Assam, which witnessed its most severe floods in over a decade.
ii.Cyclone Remal impacted West Bengal(WB) (208,000 displacements) and Assam (338,000).
iii.Tripura experienced its worst monsoon season in over 40 years, triggering 3.15 lakh displacements due to heavy rains and landslides.
iv.Conflict triggered 1,700 displacements in India in 2024, marking a decline from 2023. However, communal violence in Manipur continued to impact populations, causing 1,000 displacements in 2024.
4.Regional Highlights:
i.Sub-Saharan Africa: This region accounted for approximately 46% of the global total, with 38.8 million internally displaced people.
ii.South Asia: Disaster-related displacements nearly tripled in 2024, reaching 9.2 million, the second-highest figure for the region in over a decade.
iii.Americas: The Americas experienced a record 14.5 million internal displacements in 2024, more than the previous five years combined. The United States of America(USA) reported the highest figure with 11 million disaster-related movements.
About Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC):
Director – Alexandra Bilak
Headquarters – Geneva (Switzerland)
Established – 1998
