Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025

Regional Overviews

Sub-Saharan Africa (Part 4)
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger recorded fewer conflict displacements than in 2023. The figure for Burkina Faso fell by nearly half to 380,000. The number of displacement alerts was similar to previous years, but they involved fewer individuals. Conflict and displacement were previously concentrated in the northern regions of Sahel and Centre- Nord, but they have spread to other areas over the last three years, and in 2024, most movements were recorded in Est region.

Around 2.1 million people were living in displacement countrywide as result of conflict and violence at the end of the year, but the last data available was from March 2023. Filling this gap is important, given that Burkina Faso has been one of Africa’s fastest growing internal displacement crises in recent years.

Conflict and violence triggered 131,000 movements in Mali and 100,000 in Niger, but the number of people living in displacement at the end of the year rose slightly in both countries to reach 361,000 and 412,000, respectively. 

Some central African countries also recorded fewer conflict displacements than in 2023. The figure for the Central African Republic fell from 214,000 to 94,000, the lowest since 2016. Improved security conditions allowed some IDPs to return to their places of origin, but there were still 469,000 people living in displacement at the end of the year, down from 512,000 in 2023.

In August last year, the government published a National Durable Solutions Strategy for IDPs and Returnees in Central African Republic 2024-2028, aimed at supporting IDPs and returnees find durable solutions. The strategy, which is in line with the Kampala Convention and other international frameworks, also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of different line ministries.

The number of conflict displacements in Cameroon fell from 164,000 in 2023 to 93,000. About two-thirds took place in the Far North region, where Boko Haram and other NSAGs continued to conduct attacks. The remainder were recorded in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

The figure for Chad’s Lac province fell from 92,000 in 2023 to 61,000 last year. The needs of IDPs and host communities remained high, however, and the security situation continued to be volatile. The conflict in Sudan also forced more than 148,000 Chadians to return to a situation of internal displacement. They represented a significant proportion of the country’s 383,000 IDPs as of the end of the year.

​Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Norwegian Refugee Council. Geneva, Switzerland.