By 2023 displacement will have doubled over a decade, new report predicts

Countries such as Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ethiopia will continue to see a high number of people being displaced, while in countries such as Burkina Faso and Cameroon there will be a rapid growth in the number of people displaced. These are some of the conclusions in DRC’s new Global Displacement Forecast report, which predicts displacement trends in 2022 and 2023. The forecast, which covers 26 countries, where most displacement happens, expects that the total number of people displaced will increase by 2.9 million in 2022 and an additional 3.9 million in 2023 entailing a total increase of 6.8 million. This means that in the 10-year period from 2014 to 2023, displacement is looking to almost double, increasing by more than 35 million people.

“It is extremely worrying to see such a rapidly increasing number of displaced persons in such a short time. Also, the report makes it very clear that displacement disproportionally affects poorer countries and areas that already have enough on their plate”, said Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC): “We see that humanitarian funding is inadequate in a number of countries where displacement is taking place. The international community needs to step up with extra support to the countries that are most affected by displacement including countries such as DR Congo, Sudan and Mali.”

The study also predicts that most of the displaced persons in 2022 and 2023 will not cross any borders. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa will face the greatest increase in displacement with five million by the end of 2023. In contrast, the number in Europe is estimated to be less than 50,000.