Record 71 million people displaced within their countries

According to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, the number of internally displaced people from wars and natural disasters increased by 20 percent year-over-year. Those displaced people moved a record 60.9 million times. That’s 60 percent more than in 2022 and the highest rate ever recorded. The numbers don’t include displaced people who crossed international borders.

What countries saw the most displacement? The report said 60 percent of the removals from conflict and violence were recorded in Ukraine. Nearly 17 million people fled to different parts of the country as the front lines changed. Pakistan saw the highest displacement of people from disasters as monsoon flooding displaced more than 8 million Pakistanis. Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia also displaced millions.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report on the conflict in eastern Congo in World Tour.