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Gaza war increases number of forcibly displaced people worldwide by 8%, UN refugee agency says
Displaced Palestinians travel in a car in Rafah, southern Gaza, on May 7. (Credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)
The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide rose by 8% last year due to the devastating war in Gaza, the United Nations refugee agency says in a new report.
According to the UNHCR Global Trends Report published this Thursday, around 117.3 million people will be forcibly displaced worldwide in 2023 due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events causing serious problems of public order: 8.8 million more than in 2022.
“One in 69 people worldwide, or 1.5 percent of the world’s population, is forcibly displaced, almost double the number from a decade ago,” the report says.
Of the displaced, approximately 68.3 million people are internally displaced, while 6.9 million are classified as asylum seekers, UNHCR said.
The report said conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and violence in Haiti are some of the factors behind the rise in numbers.
Some context: As of January, 1.9 million civilians (or 85% of Gaza’s population) had been forcibly displaced amid Israel’s military operations, according to the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.