UN agency to present annual world refugee report

The number of refugees worldwide has climbed to record highs in recent years, and the trend is expected to persist when the UN refugee agency publishes its latest annual report on Thursday.

The agency is officially known as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Major humanitarian crises, including those in Sudan and several other African countries, remain largely unchanged.

There has been one significant development, however: the fall of Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria in December 2024.

Following more than a decade of brutal civil war, the regime’s collapse has prompted some Syrians, particularly those who had fled to Germany, to return to their homeland.

But it is still unclear whether this shift will significantly reduce the overall number of refugees worldwide.