MENA Region Hit Hard as Record 71.1 Million People Internally Displaced in 2022
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reported that the global number of internally displaced people reached a record high of 71.1 million in 2022, driven by conflicts and natural disasters.
Middle Eastern and North African countries, such as Syria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan, figured prominently in the report.
By the end of 2022, 5.9 million people in Ukraine were displaced due to Russia’s invasion, contributing to the 62 million total displaced by conflict and violence worldwide, a 17% increase from 2021. Syria followed with 6.8 million people displaced after a decade of civil war.
Natural disasters displaced 8.7 million people within their countries in 2022, marking a 45% increase from 2021. The La Nina weather phenomenon, ongoing for three consecutive years, was a significant factor in disaster displacements, causing record floods in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Brazil, as well as severe droughts in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, described 2022 as experiencing a “perfect storm” of conflict and natural disasters, leading to unprecedented displacement levels. The UN migration agency highlighted that the conflict in Sudan between the army and a rival paramilitary group has already internally displaced 700,000 people in 2023, further exacerbating the situation in the Middle East and North Africa region.
