Three million people displaced from homes despite Covid in 2020, UN says

The millions who have fled countries such as Syria and Afghanistan due to protracted wars or fighting have dominated the UN agency’s tally for years

More than three million people were forced away from their home countries in 2020. Picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

War, violence, persecution, human rights violations and other factors caused nearly three million people to flee their homes last year, even though the Covid-19 crisis restricted movement worldwide, the UN refugee agency has said.

In its Global Trends report published on Friday, UNHCR said the world’s cumulative number of displaced people rose to 82.4 million — roughly the population of Germany and a new post Second World War record.