00:00The number of people forced from their homes by war, violence and persecution fell in 2025 for the first time
00:07in more than a decade, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
00:12The UN says the global refugee population declined 3% to 41.6 million people, but it cautions that displacement
00:21remains at critically high levels worldwide.
00:26Around 5.4 million people fled across borders last year to escape conflict and persecution.
00:32At the same time, nearly 15 million refugees and internally displaced people returned home, the second highest total ever recorded
00:40and a 50% increase from last year.
00:42The largest returns were seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Myanmar.
00:50But the UN warns many of those returns were not necessarily voluntary, with people going back to areas still affected
00:57by insecurity, damaged infrastructure and limited access to basic services.
01:03And despite the overall decline, 7 in 10 refugees have now been displaced for five years or more, highlighting the
01:09challenge of long-term exile.
01:11The agency says the goal is to cut long-term displacement in half by 2035 through greater investment in education,
01:19jobs and support for host communities.
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