Overview
- Global refugees fell to 41.6 million at the end of 2025, a 3% drop reported by the UN Refugee Agency that marks the first decline in a decade.
- Returns rose sharply in 2025, with 14.7 million people going back to their homes and 4.4 million refugees returning, according to UNHCR.
- The number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the EU and UK held at about 9.59 million in 2025 while asylum applications dropped to 770,000, the Rockwool migration centre found.
- Ukrainians remain a very large share of Europe’s displaced population, with about 5.2 million recorded as refugees at end-2025 and UNHCR estimating roughly 139,300 returned to Ukraine during 2025.
- Experts warn that many returns are to areas with damaged services and fragile security, so host-country policies on naturalization, housing and employment will shape whether returns lead to lasting reintegration.