Owing to rise in conflicts and climate change-induced disasters across the world, nearly 76 million internally displaced people (IDPs) have left their homes to find refuge and safety, as per data recorded till the end of 2023.
In its annual Global Report on Internal Displacement, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre ascertained a total of 75.9 million IDPs by the end of last year, noticing a glaring increase in numbers due to conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, as well as the recurring disaster events across the globe.
The number of IDPs, as per the NGO monitor, increased over 50% in the last five years and the colossal figure was a new end-of-year high by its count. The figure bumped up from 71.1 million, which was recorded at the end of 2022.
The IDMC, in its report, revealed that 68.3 million people worldwide were displaced by conflict and violence, and 7.7 million by disasters.
The report mentioned that around 3.7 million internal displacements were reported in South Asia in 2023. “Disasters triggered 3.6 million, the lowest figure since 2018.”
From 2014 to 2023 in Pakistan, at least 1,216,000 (1.2 million) individuals became IDPs due to disasters, while 23,000 were displaced because of conflicts.
“Pakistan recorded the second highest number of IDPs in the region, with about 1.2 million people displaced by disasters,” the report stated, highlighting that most people were “forced to flee their homes during the 2022 floods”.
Meanwhile, the data related to internal displacement (movements) stated that at least 732,000 internal displacement took place due to disasters, while 2,800 were attributed to conflicts from 2014 to 2023.
“Pakistan accounted for around half of the total with 647,000 displacements, most of which took place in July and particularly in the eastern province of Punjab. Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh were also affected,” read the report, adding that the same provinces were the “worst affected” by the devastating 2022 monsoon floods, and some of the communities displaced were forced to flee again in 2023.
