More than 45 million people across Africa were forcibly displaced or stateless by the end of 2025, according to the African Union, including about 32 million internally displaced people, 10 to 12 million refugees, 2 to 3 million returnees and around one million stateless people. Conflict, insecurity, climate shocks and food insecurity continue to drive displacement, while shrinking humanitarian funding is leaving protection systems under growing pressure.
Africa is facing a displacement crisis of unprecedented scale, with more than 45 million people affected by forced displacement or statelessness by the end of 2025, according to the African Union. The figure includes some 32 million internally displaced people, 10 to 12 million refugees, 2 to 3 million returnees and around one million stateless people. Conflict, insecurity, climate shocks and food insecurity continue to uproot communities, while severely underfunded humanitarian responses are placing protection systems under mounting pressure.
Together, we can make a difference in the lives of falsely displaced and stateless persons and forge a more inclusive and compassionate world.
Rose Daniel, Vice-President, Network of Women with Disabilities
The pressure on protection systems is also being felt in host communities, where sudden population growth can stretch already limited public services. In Uganda’s Koboko municipality, which has received more than 28,000 refugees from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, investments in roads, electricity, water, health and education have been central to managing the impact of displacement and strengthening local resilience.
Cities are ready. We have shown that when cities are trusted, financed, empowered, they deliver for refugees, for host communities, for the national and global agenda. The next phase must be about scaling what works, deep and direct support to cities, and ensuring that local leaders remain at the heart of global displacement response.
Sanya Wilson, Former Mayor, Koboko Municipality
For the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the focus is increasingly shifting from managing prolonged displacement to creating durable solutions. Its 2026 strategy prioritises stronger protection systems, documentation, access to services, economic inclusion, and voluntary return or other sustainable solutions.
Refugees in protracted displacement are often trapped for years and sometimes decades without a meaningful prospect of rebuilding their lives. This is why I have set an ambitious aim for UNHCR to reduce by 50 % by 2035. The number of refugees living in protracted displacement reliant on humanitarian assistance. Achieving this requires a shift in how we approach displacement. We must move from managing displacement indefinitely to resolving it collectively. Humanitarian assistance saves lives and it remains essential. But, we must do more to expand opportunities for refugees to become self-reliant, to participate in the economies and societies where they live, and to rebuild their lives with dignity.Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
The African Union says closing Africa’s protection gap requires stronger implementation of continental frameworks, predictable humanitarian funding, inclusive services and unhindered humanitarian access. With less than 27 per cent of the US$11 billion required for Africa’s 2025 humanitarian response funded, the priority is to move beyond emergency relief towards durable solutions that restore safety, dignity and self-reliance for displaced and stateless people.
