ONE
16 C

2019

INTERNALDISPLACEMENTSUMMARY

GLOBAL REPORT ON

WITH THANKS
IDMC’s 2019 Global Report on Internal Displacement has been produced with the generous contribution of thefollowing funding partners: the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency, the German Federal Foreign Office, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Australia’s
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, andMigration, the European Commission, the International Organization for Migration, the Swiss Federal Department
of Foreign Affairs and Liechtenstein’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

CMYK

Cover photo: Displaced woman from the island of Bhola living in ‘Bhola Slum’ in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Many people have had toleave their homes as a result of coastal erosion and other climate impacts in the country’s southern regions. The majority of the displaced
now live in the slums of Dhaka. Credit: Mahmud Hossain Opu for IDMC, February 2019

GLOBAL REPORT ON

INTERNALDISPLACEMENTSUMMARY
MAY 2019

4

The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) provides an overview of the world’s most significant situations of internal displacement and highlights the political and operational investments neededto address its impacts and reduce the risk of it happening in the
future.
This year’s report underscores the fact that internal displacement
is becoming increasingly protracted and urban. As cities grow andthe landscape of urban displacement changes, local authorities will
be at the forefront of responding to crises and reducing risk in thelonger term. National responsibility and leadership and international
accountability must combine with significant tangible support for
local action.
As the number of IDPs worldwide continues to rise, it is ever more
important that all actors working to address internal displacement
have comprehensive and accurate data and evidence to inform theirpolicy and practice. GRID 2019 contributes to filling important knowledge gaps, while also flagging up areas were data and evidence
need to be improved.

GRID
2019

5
Displaced people in Al-Areesha camp in Syria were severely
affected by heavy rains and widespread flooding in December
2018. Photo © UNHCR/Hisham Arafat, December 2018

6

Internal displacement is a global challenge, butheavily concentrated in a few countries and regions

Conflict and violence: New displacement by region
Conflict and violence contributed to triggering 10.8
million new displacements worldwide. Ethiopia, DRC
and Syria accounted for more than half of the global
figure. More than two-thirds of the new displacements
associated with conflict occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa,
which suffered not only new and ongoing violence but
also drought and floods during the year. Africa also
hosts some of the world’s largest protracted displacement caseloads.
Conflict and violence continued to drive displacement
and prevented returns in the Middle East. The conflict inYemen in particular escalated significantly in the second

half of 2018, heightening the vulnerability of a population already in crisis. The conflict in Syria subsided, but
still contributed to some of the largest forced population movements in the world. Ongoing insecurity andwidespread destruction meant people were unable toreturn to their areas of origin.
Around 41.3 million people were estimated to beliving in internal displacement as a result of conflictand violence in 55 countries as of the end of the year,
the highest figure ever recorded. Three-quarters, or
30.9 million people, were living in only ten countries.

Ten countries with highest number of people displaced as of end of 2018

Disasters: New displacement by region
Heightened vulnerability and exposure to suddenonset hazards resulted in 17.2 million new disasterdisplacements in 144 countries and territories. Storms,
particularly tropical cyclones, and monsoon rains forced
more people from their homes in the East Asia andPacific region than anywhere else. The 3.8 million
new displacements recorded in the Philippines were areminder of the country’s high exposure. The monsoon
season took a heavy toll in South Asia, where 2.7 million
new displacements were recorded in India alone.

GRID
2019

The global number of people displaced by slowonset disasters remains unknown. Drought conditions
monitored in just nine countries – Afghanistan, Brazil,
Burundi, Ethiopia, Iraq, Madagascar, Mongolia, Senegal
and Somalia – were responsible for at least 760,000 new
displacements during the year, a clear underestimate.
High temperatures and low precipitation levels also
contributed to unprecedented wildfires from the US to
Greece to Australia, displacing hundreds of thousandsof people, severely damaging property and preventing
swift returns.

7AmericasThe544,000
5.0%

404,000
3.7%

People living in
displacement in the
10 countries reporting
most IDPs

South Asia
2,611,000

America
s
The

54.3%
of totaldisasterdisplacement
3,303,000

19.2%

1,687,000

9.8%

2.6
2.6
2.3
2.2
2.1
2.1
2

t and Nort
h
Eas
e
l

214,000

1.2%

15.2%

3.1

d Centra
e an
lA
p
o

sia

9,332,000

Mid
d

a

aharan Afr
ic
b-S
u
S

6.1 m
5.8

rica
Af

sia and Pac
tA
ifi
as

c

E

People living in displacement as
result of conflict and violence in
55 countries and territories
as of 31 December 2018

12,0000.1%

Syria
Colombia
Dem. Rep. Congo
Somalia
Afghanistan
Yemen
Nigeria
Ethiopia
Sudan
Iraq

30.9 m41.3 md Centra
e an
lA
p
o

Eu
r

2,137,000
19.8%

236,000
2.2%

sia

nd
ast a North
E
le

rica
Af

Mid
d

E

a

7,446,000
69.1%
of total
conflictdisplacement

sia and Pac
tA
ifi
s
a

Eu
r

South Asiacaharan Afr
ic
b-S
u
S

41,0000.2%

A view of the IDP settlement in Badghis, Afghanistan. There are thousandsof makeshift homes spread between mountain hills on the outskirts of
Qala-i-naw city. Photo: NRC/Enayatullah Azad, November 2018

8

Displaced women attending a focus group discussion
on beneficiary satisfaction in Guji Zone, Oromia Region,
Ethiopia. Photo: Rikka Tupaz / UN Migration Agency(IOM) 2017

28m

10.8m

438,000

Total newdisplacements(conflict)

Total newdisplacements
in 2018
4.9m

Armed
conflict

Other
255,000
Violence(criminal)

995,000

4.2m

Violence(political)

Violence(communal)NEW
DISPLACEMENTS(CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE)
2.9m

1.8m

1.6m

578,000

GRID
2019

Ethiopia

DRC

Syria

Somalia

541,000

Nigeria

510,000

CAR

459,000

372,000

321,000

252,000

Cameroon Afghanistan

South
Sudan

Yemen

915,0009186,000
Earthquakes

Volcanic
eruptions
28,000

1.1m

17.2m

Dry mass
movement

Geophysical

1,000
Mass
movement

Total newdisplacements(disasters)

16.1m

5.4m

Weather
related

24,000Extremetemperatures

Floods

165,000
Landslides
424,000

764,000

9.3m

1.4m

StormsWildfires
Other storms
DroughtsNEW
DISPLACEMENTS(DISASTERS)

7.9m
Cyclones,
hurricanes,
typhoons

3.8m

3.8m

China

Philippines

2.7m

1.2m
853,000

298,000

336,000

MyanmarKenya

547,000

613,000

Afghanistan Somalia

Nigeria

435,000

Indonesia

UnitedStatesIndia

10

The risk of displacement
continues to grow as drivers
and impacts converge

ciated with their displacement have been addressed.
Large numbers of people reportedly returned totheir areas of origin in Ethiopia, Iraq and Nigeria, butconditions were not conducive to their long-lasting
reintegration.

Cyclical and protracted displacement continues tobe driven by political instability, chronic poverty andinequality, and environmental and climate change.
Many IDPs try to return to insecure areas with few
socioeconomic opportunities. Instead of establishing
the conditions for lasting solutions, this recreates risk
and increases the likelihood of crises erupting again in
the future.

As such, monitoring the end of displacement remains
an elusive quest, and precious little information exists
on how and when durable solutions are achieved orprogress toward them. There is growing evidence
that many displaced people wish to integrate locally,
but there is limited acceptance of this solution. This isreflected in the almost complete lack of reporting on
successful local integration.

Continued displacement despite peace-building efforts
in countries such as the Central African Republic andSouth Sudan and the peace deal in place in Colombia is
indicative of this point. Unaddressed drivers of conflictalso triggered new crises that forced millions of people
to flee in 2018, from the anglophone conflict in Cameroon to new waves of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt
region and unprecedented conflict in Ethiopia.
People in many countries were displaced by an overlapof conflict and disasters, some of them not for the firsttime. Drought and conflict triggered a similar numberof displacements in Afghanistan, and extended rainyseasons displaced millions of people in areas of Nigeria
and Somalia affected by conflict. Most of the people
displaced by disasters in Iraq and Syria had previously
fled conflict and were living in camps which were
flooded.

Millions of IDPs are invisible
and durable solutions remain
elusive
Many IDPs remain unaccounted for. Figures for DRC,
Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen are considered
underestimates, and data is scarce for other countries
such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Russia,
Turkey and Venezuela. This prevents an accurate assessment of the true global scale of internal displacement.
Assessing solutions also continues to be a major challenge. Reports of people having returned, relocated or
integrated locally during the year rarely provide enoughevidence to fully assess whether the vulnerabilities asso-

GRID
2019

Internal displacement isincreasingly becoming anurban phenomenon
Cities are the preferred destination for many people
fleeing conflict and disaster, and a wide range offactors also accumulate in urban areas to generate
new displacement. Airstrikes and shelling in urban
centres triggered large waves of displacement in 2018,from Hodeida in Yemen to Tripoli in Libya and Dara’a in
Syria. Despite the end of active conflict in Mosul in Iraq
and Marawi in the Philippines, widespread destruction
and unexploded ordnance have prevented people fromreturning to their homes.
Given the rapid urbanisation the world is undergoing,
people’s exposure and vulnerability to disasters and thedisplacement they trigger is likely to continue to rise.
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, for example, urban sprawl andbadly managed embankment and drainage schemes
have increased the risk of flooding and waterlogging.
As the city continues to expand, this risk will grow withthe population unless adequate measures to reduce it
are put in place.
A global average of more than 17 million people are at
risk of being displaced by floods every year, and morethan 80 per cent of them live in urban and peri-urban
areas. Most urban flood displacement risk is concentrated in South Asia and East Asia and Pacific, but it isalso high in Sub-Saharan Africa.

11

National responsibility must
support local action to address
urban displacement
The provision of basic services for IDPs remains animportant humanitarian challenge in active crises andcamp settings, but it also lies at the heart of development efforts in complex urban and protracted displacement situations. Conflict and long-term displacement
in already deteriorating socioeconomic conditions
makes it difficult for local authorities to provide services
that meet the needs of the urban poor. Many IDPs
are trapped in poverty, which in turn contributes toprolonging their displacement and increasing the riskof secondary movements.
More investment is needed at the city level to strengthen
the capacity of communities and local authorities
to analyse, plan and act jointly. Inclusive legislation,
housing provision and service delivery need to becomea part of the DNA of urban governance if urban IDPs
are to escape protracted and cyclical displacement.
Effecting change will require the involvement and ultimately the leadership of displaced people themselves
and their host communities.
Concerted and coherent poverty reduction efforts,
including targeted assistance and broader social
protection, need to be developed in place of siloed,short-term humanitarian interventions. To support local
action effectively, the international community must
address institutional barriers to coherence and pursue
coordination in funding and programming across thehumanitarian, development and peacebuilding sectors
with a renewed sense of urgency and purpose.

New policy developments
show promise but morepolitical will is needed
There were promising policy developments in several
regions in 2018. Niger became the first country todomesticate the Kampala Convention by adopting a law
on internal displacement, and Kosovo recognised theimportance of supporting returning refugees and IDPs,
and updated its existing policy to that end. Vanuatu
produced a policy on displacement associated withclimate change and disasters, and Fiji showed foresight in adopting new guidelines on disaster-related
resettlement, developed in consultation with affected
communities.
Cities are also tasked with localising and applying global
and national development frameworks as part of thesustainable development agenda, but often struggle
to do so. The way and extent to which authority andresources are decentralised will determine their capacity
for effective governance and implementation.

Flood displacement risk, by region
92.2%

South Asia

East Asia
and Pacific80.1%

Sub-SaharanAfrica76.1%

Europe andCentral Asia

62.7%
50.7%

Americas

AAD Urban

Middle East andNorth Africa

75.6%
0

1

AAD Rural
2

3

Average Annual Displacement - AAD, in millions

4

5

6

7

8

12
Promising new approaches in the provision of housing,basic services and employment are emerging. A “rentto own” initiative set up by the municipal authorities
in Mariupol, Ukraine, addressed the lack of affordable
rented accommodation for IDPs in the city. In Mosul,
local businesses’ employment of IDPs combined with
self-build support for housing facilitated returns andhelped to reinvigorate neighbourhoods and the local
economy.
Effecting city-level change will require progress acrossat least three main areas. Knowledge and evidence ofthe drivers, impacts and risks of urban displacement andappropriate interventions to address and reduce it area prerequisite for effective action. The capacity to act
on the evidence and develop inclusive and sustainableapproaches also needs to be strengthened, particularly in low-income countries and those that face large
displacement crises.
Most importantly, increased political will is neededat both the municipal and national level. For this, theright incentives need to be established to adapt urban
planning, investment, regulation and service delivery
to the realities of informality and protracted displacement. Urban opportunities cannot be unlocked without
political solutions, and those solutions need to movebeyond short-term responses to embrace long-termrisk reduction and inclusive development.

Solutions are within reach:stronger data and evidence is a
first step
The challenges associated with internal displacement
data are clearly interlinked. A systemic approach thatinvolves common standards and improves cooperation,
coordination and data interoperability is vital if governments and other stakeholders are to fully understand,prevent and address the phenomenon through better
policymaking, planning and risk reduction.
Only around a quarter of global internal displacement
data is geo-referenced and little to no information exists
on the duration of displacement, which means only
limited insight into where people move to and how
long they remain displaced. These gaps impede not only
effective responses, but also successful development

GRID
2019

strategies to end displacement and reduce the risk of it
happening in the future.
A systemic response to addressing gaps in data andevidence is possible. Common standards and better
cooperation and coordination are within our reach,
and will go a long way in providing the evidence baserequired for policy work, development planning andhumanitarian operations. Appropriate tools for needs
assessments, risk analyses, investment planning andprogress monitoring already exist and allow states todevelop sustainable approaches to ending displacement. The priority now is providing national and local
authorities with the financial and technical support theyneed to apply them.
New technologies and approaches have the potential to
overcome some of the challenges in obtaining comprehensive, timely, accurate and disaggregated data on a
range of displacement situations. Used with due regard
for ethical questions of privacy and data protection, they
could help to fill significant knowledge gaps.
Armed with stronger data and evidence, governments
and other stakeholders are better equipped to understand and plan for future risk and to monitor progress
toward targets under frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the Sendai Framework on
Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement. Importantly, they will also be in a better position to address
displaced people’s needs.
As we look ahead, the conclusions from IDMC’s previous
global reports remain alarmingly valid. This year’s GRID
shows, however, that promising new approaches exist.
In a rapidly urbanising world, many of the opportunities
for solutions to displacement are located in and aroundcities. When responsible states work hand in hand withlocal governments and people, supported by the international community, solutions can be found that reduce
global displacement risk and make the future of those
displaced today less bleak.

13

Toward a checklist for action on urban displacement:
start by building an evidence base
Data and analysis|| Systematically account for urban IDPs. Record their number and the duration and severity of theirdisplacement, disaggregated by sex, age, disability and other relevant criteria|| Monitor movements and conditions of those displaced over time, not just during and immediately
after crises|| Undertake profiling exercises that include both displaced and host populations|| Collaborate with humanitarian, development and other stakeholders working to reduce vulnerability
and risk to ensure that any data collected is interoperable

Capacity and participation|| Build on communities’ existing capacities, including for the collection of data on their vulnerabilities
and needs, but also their existing resources, skills and community services|| Strengthen the capacity of local organisations and government departments for data and statisticalanalysis|| Work with IDPs and those at risk of displacement to identify priority areas in service delivery andinfrastructure development|| Identify urban development approaches that accommodate informality, including through flexible
and secure tenure arrangements and adaptive labour market strategies in line with national andinternational sustainable development initiatives

Incentives and political will|| Estimate the impacts of displacement on city development and the risks inherent in inaction, including
effects on the city’s economy, security, stability and social wellbeing|| Use risk assessments to advocate for new and appropriate financing mechanisms to support city
action and make displacement risk one of the core considerations in urban planning and development|| Document successful approaches to managing and reducing internal displacement in cities andprovide a platform for exchange and learning for municipalities and their partners|| Recognise IDPs as local citizens, even when return is their preferred long-term solution, by allowing
voting rights and providing space for public participation, and supporting their access to documentation

14

NEW DISPLACEMENT BY CONFLICT AND
South Sudan
6,600 | 321,000

United States
1,247,000

Sudan
121,000 | 41,000

Mali
19,000 | 126,000

Mexico20,000 | 11,000

Burkina Faso
5,100 | 42,000

Guatemala
27,000Benin
23,000 | 3,500

El Salvador
4,700 | 246,000

Ghana
61,000 | 5,000
Colombia
67,000 | 145,000

Nigeria
613,000 | 541,000

Venezuela
32,000

Cameroon
459,000

Brazil
86,000Central African Republic
9,300 | 510,000

Paraguay
30,000Dem. Rep. Congo
81,000 | 1,840,000
Rwanda47,000More than 3 million
1,000,001 to 3 million
200,001 to 1,000,000
20,001 to 200,000
Less than 20,000

28 m

Total
17,188,000 | 10,779,000
People displacedby disasters

27,0

Niger
40,000 | 52,000

Cuba
52,000Dominican Republic
27,000Libya
70,000People displacedby conflict

35,000

164,000

The Americas

Europe and Central Asia

(7.5% from the total figure)(0.2%)

1,687,000 | 404,000

41,000 | 12,000

The country names and figures are shown only when the total new displacements value exceeds 20,000. Due to roundThe boundaries and the names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by ID

GRID
2019

15

D DISASTERS IN 2018

Syria
000 | 1,649,000

Iraq
69,000 | 150,000

Ethiopia
296,000 | 2,895,000

Iran
74,000Afghanistan
435,000 | 372,000

India
2,675,000 | 169,000
China
3,762,000
Dem. People's Rep. Korea
69,000
Myanmar298,000 | 42,000Japan
146,000
Viet Nam
143,000
Cambodia
37,000Philippines
3,802,000 | 188,000
Indonesia
853,000 | 4,500

Yemen
18,000 | 252,000

Papua New Guinea
61,000 | 360
Sri Lanka
100,000 | 1,100
Somalia
547,000 | 578,000

Malaysia
38,000
Bangladesh
78,000 | 300

Madagascar
75,000 | 1,700
Kenya
336,000 | 10,000
Burundi| 5,100

Tanzania
29,000Uganda| 9,000

Mozambique
31,000 | 3,800

Middle East and North Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Asia

East Asia and Pacific(8.4%)(36.0%)(13.8%)(34.2%)

214,000 | 2,137,000

2,611,000 | 7,446,000

3,303,000 | 544,000

ding, some totals may not correspond with the sum of the separate figures.

DMC.

9,332,000 | 236,000

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world’s authoritative source of data andanalysis on internal displacement. Since our establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian RefugeeCouncil (NRC), we have offered a rigorous, independent and trusted service to the international
community. Our work informs policy and operational decisions that improve the lives of the millions
of people living in internal displacement, or at risk of becoming displaced in the future.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre

www.internal-displacement.org

3 rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland

www.facebook.com/InternalDisplacement+41 22 552 3600 | info@idmc.ch

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