The UN’s refugee agency has released new numbers showing that at the end of 2015, 65.3 million people were refugees, internally displaced or seeking asylum. It’s the largest number ever recorded. And, it grew by 5 million in 2015—the largest single-year increase since WWII.
To put 65 million into perspective, that’s about the same as the population of Texas, New York state and Florida—combined. It means that right now, 1 in 113 people around the world are displaced. The UNHCR says that in 2015, 24 people were forced to flee their homes every minute.
Heartbreakingly, half of the world’s refugees are children.
Today on World Refugee Day, people around the globe are remembering the plight of refugees, who have been displaced by violence, extreme poverty and instability. Organizations like World Vision, the UN’s Refugee Agency, Save the Children, UNICEF and many others provide ways for you to donate to and advocate for the millions that have been forced to flee their homes.