The world’s forcibly displaced: record growth and new migration pathways.

The year 2023 marked a significant increase in the number of people who were forced to leave their homes due to conflict, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). A total of 8.8 million individuals were displaced as a result of violence, bringing the overall number of forcibly displaced people to over 117 million. This accounts for 1.5% of the global population and represents almost double the number from a decade ago. Approximately 40% of these displaced individuals are minors. The UNHCR’s data encompasses refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and others in need of international protection.

The UN agency reports that one-third of forcibly displaced individuals are currently residing in the world’s poorest countries, such as Chad and Sudan. In Sudan, over 7 million people have fled their homes since the outbreak of war in April 2023, and almost 3 million were displaced by previous conflicts. The United States received 1.2 million asylum applications, while Germany received 329,000, making them the largest recipients of new asylum applications last year.

A new migrant route has emerged, leading desperate individuals to Europe. This route passes through Mauritania and involves a perilous journey. The local port in Nouadhibou, once a bustling trade center for fishing boats, has now become a hub for human smuggling. From Mauritania, citizens from Mauritania, Mali, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Senegal embark on dangerous boat journeys to the Canary Islands. In the first three months of this year alone, over 12,000 migrants arrived at this Spanish archipelago, often packed onto small, severely overcrowded boats.