Armed conflict becomes leading cause of global internal displacement in 2025

A joint report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reveals that armed conflict caused 32.3 million internal displacements in 2025, a 60% increase from the previous year. For the first time, conflict replaced natural disasters, which accounted for 29.9 million displacements, as the primary cause of internal migration. At the end of 2025, the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) reached 82.2 million, the second-highest figure on record after 2024. Roughly 65.8 million new total displacements occurred throughout the year, including repeat incidents. Iran and the Democratic Republic of Congo were identified as the most affected, accounting for two-thirds of new conflict-related movements with approximately 10 million each. Sudan remains the country with the highest total number of displaced people for the third year in a row, with over nine million recorded. Other states with significant populations of displaced persons include Colombia, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan. IDMC Director Tracy Lucas and NRC Director Jan Egeland characterized these trends as an alarm signal indicating a failure in global conflict prevention and civilian protection.