Forced displacement at record 68.5 million people - UNHCR

Forced displacement at record 68.5 million people - UNHCR

"Leading the displacement during the year was the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the war in South Sudan and the flight into Bangladesh from Myanmar of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees," a press release said.

"We are at a watershed, where success in managing forced displacement globally requires a new and far more comprehensive approach so that countries and communities aren’t left dealing with this alone," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

Refugees accounted for 25.4 million - 2.9 million more than in 2016 - "the biggest increase UNHCR has ever seen in a single year," the organization said. The number of IDPs was slightly lower - at 40 million in 2017.