Global Displacement Report 2026
Who publishes the displacement figures, on what cycle, and how to read them without double counting.
TL;DR
No single organisation publishes the global displacement figure. UNHCR covers refugees and the global total, IDMC covers internal displacement, IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix covers operational movement, and OCHA covers needs and funding. Numbers differ mainly because these sources count different things on different cycles.
Who publishes what
Displacement data is a division of labour, not a single register. Each organisation below holds a mandate for part of the picture and publishes on its own cycle. Reading a figure correctly starts with knowing which of them produced it.
| Publisher | What it covers | Reporting cycle | Flagship product |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNHCR | Refugees, asylum seekers, stateless people, returns, and the global forced displacement headline total | Annual flagship plus rolling operational data portals | Global Trends and Refugee Data Finder |
| IDMC | Internal displacement by conflict and by disaster, reported as both stock at year end and new displacements during the year | Annual, with a mid-year disaster update | Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) |
| IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix | Operational tracking of internally displaced people, returnees and mobility at site, village and district level | Rolling assessment rounds, country by country | DTM country dashboards and rapid displacement tracking |
| OCHA | People in need, humanitarian access, funding requirements and response coverage | Annual overviews plus situation reports during emergencies | Global Humanitarian Overview and country situation reports |
| UNRWA | Registered Palestine refugees across its five fields of operation | Rolling registration data plus situation reports | UNRWA registration statistics and emergency situation reports |
| ACLED | Coded political violence and protest events, used to explain why displacement occurs and when | Weekly | ACLED conflict event data |
| IPC and Cadre Harmonise | Acute food insecurity classification, frequently the trigger for displacement decisions | Analysis cycles, usually two or three per country per year | IPC acute food insecurity analyses |
| R4V platform | Refugees and migrants from Venezuela across Latin America and the Caribbean | Rolling country reporting | R4V regional platform figures |
| JIPS | Joint profiling exercises that establish who is displaced in a specific city or area and what their situation is | Per exercise | Profiling reports by location |
| Humanitarian Data Exchange | The shared repository where most of the datasets above are published in machine readable form | Continuous | HDX datasets and HXL standards |
Methodology note: this table describes mandates and publication cycles as stated by each organisation on the pages linked above. It contains no population figures. Cycles slip during major emergencies, when situation reporting replaces scheduled products.
How to read the figures
Stock and flow are different questions
A stock figure counts how many people are displaced at a point in time. A flow figure counts how many displacement movements happened in a period. One person displaced four times in a year adds one to the stock and four to the flow. Headlines that mix the two produce totals that cannot be reconciled with either source.
Movements are counted, not always people
In fast moving emergencies, agencies count arrivals and departures at sites and border points. Where families move repeatedly, a total of movements will exceed the number of individuals. Read the technical note on any dashboard before treating a figure as a population.
Legal categories do not add up cleanly
Refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, returnees and stateless people are defined by different instruments and tracked by different mandates. In practice the same household can move between categories, and in many settlements all of these groups live side by side. Summing the categories usually double counts someone.
Cumulative registries answer a historical question
Some countries maintain a registry of everyone ever recorded as displaced, which is a legal entitlement record rather than a count of who is displaced today. Comparing a cumulative registry with a current year assessment is one of the most common errors in displacement reporting.
Access constraints widen uncertainty
Where roads are closed, communications are cut or assessment teams cannot enter, figures are estimated from partner networks and key informants. The number is still the best available, but the uncertainty band around it is wide and the reporting lag is longer.
Figures get revised, and revisions are normal
Emergency estimates are replaced by assessment results, and assessment results are replaced by verification. A figure falling between two reports can mean the situation improved, or that the method changed. Always cite the publication and the date, not the number alone.
Return is not the same as a durable solution
Someone recorded as returned may be living in damaged housing without water, services or secure land rights. Return figures need to be read together with shelter damage assessments and intention surveys before they are described as an end of displacement.
Funding data explains service coverage, not population
A falling response figure often reflects funding rather than need. Financial Tracking Service data and the humanitarian appeal documents should be read alongside displacement figures whenever coverage is discussed.
How to cite a displacement figure
- Name the publisher, the product and the date, for example UNHCR Global Trends rather than UNHCR alone.
- State whether the figure is a stock at a date or a flow over a period.
- Note the geographic level, because a national total and a district assessment are rarely comparable.
- Record the access date, since operational portals overwrite figures rather than versioning them.
- Link to the source page so a reader can check the current value themselves.
Our own verification process, including the source registry behind every figure we publish, is documented on the methodology page.
Why this report carries no headline number
A global displacement total is only meaningful with its source, its date and its definition attached. Those change with every publication cycle, and a number restated on a static page goes stale quietly. We describe the landscape and link to the publishers, so the current value is always read from the organisation that produced it and the methodology that stands behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Who publishes the global displacement figures?
UNHCR publishes refugee, asylum seeker, stateless and global forced displacement figures. IDMC publishes internal displacement by conflict and disaster. IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix publishes operational tracking at site and district level. OCHA publishes people in need, access and funding. UNRWA publishes registered Palestine refugee figures. ACLED and IPC supply the conflict and food insecurity context.
Why do displacement numbers differ between reports?
Because the reports answer different questions. Agencies differ on whether they count people or movements, on the date of the snapshot, on the legal categories included, on the geographic level, and on whether an estimate has been superseded by assessment. Differences are usually methodological rather than contradictory.
What is the difference between stock and flow in displacement data?
Stock is how many people are displaced at a point in time. Flow is how many displacement movements occurred over a period. A person displaced several times in a year counts once in the stock and several times in the flow, so the two series cannot be added together.
How often is displacement data updated?
Flagship annual reports such as UNHCR Global Trends and the IDMC Global Report on Internal Displacement appear once a year. Operational sources update far more often: ACLED weekly, IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix per assessment round, and OCHA situation reports during active emergencies.
Where can I download displacement data?
Most datasets are published in machine readable form on the Humanitarian Data Exchange, alongside the UNHCR Refugee Data Finder, the IDMC database and IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix country pages. Each carries its own licence and methodology note.
Why does this report not state a global displacement total?
Because the total changes with each publication cycle and only means something alongside its source, date and definition. This page explains who publishes the figure and how to read it, and links to the publishers so the current value is read from the source.
Continue reading
- Displacement events tracker: the named 2026 events behind the country figures.
- 2026 country displacement updates: situation briefings for the crises we track.
- Refugee data hub: definitions, statistics pages and legal categories.
- Displacement glossary: the vocabulary used across these datasets.
- Data sources: every source we draw on, with update frequency.