GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes worldwide has dropped slightly from a record peak but remains “untenably high”, the United Nations (UN) said Thursday.

A record 123.2 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes at the end of 2024, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN refugee agency.

But that figure dropped to 122.1 million by the end of April this year, as Syrians began returning home after years of turmoil.

More than 1.5 million Syrians have been able to return home from abroad or from displacement within the war-ravaged country.

But the UNHCR warned that the course of major conflicts worldwide would determine whether the figure would rise again.

The agency said the number of people displaced by war, violence and persecution worldwide was “untenably high”, particularly in a period when humanitarian funding is evaporating.

“We are living in a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

“We must redouble our efforts to search for peace and find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes.”

The main drivers of displacement remain sprawling conflicts like those in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine, UNHCR said in its flagship annual Global Trends Report.

Syria’s brutal civil war erupted in 2011, but ruler Bashar al-Assad was finally overthrown in December 2024.

The report said rising numbers of Syrians have since been able to return to their homes.

As of mid-May, more than 500,000 Syrians are estimated to have crossed back into the country since the fall of Assad, while an estimated 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned to their areas of origin since the end of November.

UNHCR estimates that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million IDPs may return by the end of 2025.

Sudan is now the world’s largest forced displacement situation with 14.3 million refugees and IDPs, overtaking Syria (13.5 million), which is followed by Afghanistan (10.3 million) and Ukraine (8.8 million).

“During the remainder of 2025, much will depend on the dynamics in key situations,” the annual report said, including whether peace or ceasefires can be reached in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Ukraine.

It also depends on whether conditions for returns improve in Afghanistan and Syria.

Another factor was “how dire the impact of the current funding cuts will be”.

The United States was by far UNHCR’s biggest donor but has dramatically scaled back its overseas aid, while other countries are tightening their budgets.

“The failure to protect civilians is astounding,” said Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland.

“Despite the immense suffering of displaced people, we are now seeing many countries turn inwards, making drastic cuts to humanitarian funding.”

The number of people forced to flee persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order has almost doubled in the last decade.

The figure of 123.2 million worldwide at the end of last year was up seven million compared to the end of 2023.

“One in 67 people globally were forcibly displaced at the end of 2024,” UNHCR said.

In total, 9.8 million forcibly displaced people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees — the most for more than two decades — and 8.2 million IDPs — the second highest ever.

“We have seen some rays of hope over the last six months,” said Grandi.

But countries such as the DR Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan saw significant new forced displacements as well as returns.

Two-thirds of refugees stay in neighbouring countries.

Iran (3.5 million), Turkey (2.9 million), Colombia (2.8 million), Germany (2.7 million) and Uganda (1.8 million) host the largest refugee populations.