Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025

Regional Overviews

Middle East & North Africa: Spotlight – Syria
Syria’s internally displaced population has been among the world’s largest for more than a decade, and 2024 was no exception. Around 7.4 million people were living in internal displacement at the end of the year, the second highest figure on record for the country and surpassed only by Sudan. The number of movements due to conflict during the year was the highest since 2020, at 768,000. The vast majority took place in late November and early December when non-state armed groups (NSAGs) launched an offensive that overthrew the government. 
 
This notable political shift did not, however, immediately resolve IDPs’ plight. Protracted conflict and displacement left more people in need of humanitarian assistance than ever before in 2024, and the widespread damage and destruction wrought by years of war will continue to be a major obstacle to millions of IDPs’ efforts to re-establish their lives and livelihoods.
 
Their living conditions continued to be dire, particularly in the north-western governorates of Idlib and Aleppo, which were home to more than half of the country’s IDPs. The two governorates became opposition strongholds over the years and were the scene of fighting among NSAGs as well as between NSAGs and government forces. The latter carried out heavy bombardments, including of displacement camps, most notably in 2017 and early 2020.
 
Camps have also been badly affected by floods and storms that forced a significant number of IDPs to flee repeatedly, increasing their needs. The combined effects of conflict, disasters and displacement continued to be a reality in 2024, when several camps were flooded after heavy rains in May. These IDPs already faced insecurity and were struggling to recover from the earthquakes that hit north-west Syria in February 2023.
 
Eighty per cent of the two million IDPs living in more than 1,500 displacement camps and other informal settlements in north-western governorates were women and children as of August 2024. Displaced women and girls have been subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse in and outside camps, and a whole generation of children have suffered malnutrition and been deprived of education. Some have been subjected to child labour or early marriage as negative coping mechanisms.
 
IDPs’ situation deteriorated as hostilities escalated in October, particularly in opposition-held areas that were bombarded by government forces, triggering more displacements and disrupting the supply of water, electricity and other basic services. The fighting intensified further at the end of November as NSAGs launched large-scale offensives in their rapid and coordinated advance to overthrow the government. 
 
Most movements were again reported in the north-west. The situation in Aleppo became highly volatile and people fled en-masse, stretching the capacity of humanitarians to deliver aid.200 Others were trapped between the frontlines and unable to move for days.
 
Displacement continued as the front- lines moved south and reached the capital, Damascus. There was a lull after the government’s fall, but departures from IDP camps remained minimal and temporary, and most IDPs said they preferred to stay put until the situation had stabilised and become less uncertain. Some returns were reported by the end of the year, notably in Hama and Aleppo governorates, but they did not necessarily represent durable solutions given the continued volatility of the security situation.
 
IDPs and returnees also faced a lack of basic services, widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure and the presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance in return areas. Most were still living in precarious conditions at the end of the year, and continued to face protection risks and water and sanitation issues.
 
The political transition could provide an opportunity to bring lasting peace and create an enabling environment for IDPs to achieve durable solutions, but the journey will be long and complex. Sustained international political and financial support will be essential to meet humanitarian and longer-term recovery needs. Monitoring progress will also be key, because it will provide evidence to inform policies and action to resolve one of the world’s largest and most protracted displacement situations. 
 
Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Norwegian Refugee Council. Geneva, Switzerland.