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Internally displaced person
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<p>An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is <a href="/facts/Forced_displacement/lKjCS4R2">forced to leave</a> their <a href="/facts/Home/6E2KNpSe">home</a> but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as <a href="/facts/Refugee/VISfRRnT">refugees</a>, although they do not fall within the <a href="/facts/Refugee/VISfRRnT">legal definitions</a> of a refugee. </p> <p>In 2022, it was estimated there were 70.5 million IDPs worldwide. The first year for which global statistics on IDPs are available was in 1989. As of 3 May 2022,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Internally_displaced_person&action=edit">[update]</a> the countries with the largest IDP populations were <a href="/facts/Ukraine/Qof0uqAj">Ukraine</a> (8 million), <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a> (7.6 million), <a href="/facts/Ethiopia/LVujNp5v">Ethiopia</a> (5.5 million), the <a href="/facts/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo/E2KmHDdv">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> (5.2 million), <a href="/facts/Colombia/nl7r8Q2u">Colombia</a> (4.9 million), <a href="/facts/Yemen/eDyoh4qV">Yemen</a> (4.3 million), <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a> (3.8 million), <a href="/facts/Iraq/pqYSFJw8">Iraq</a> (3.6 million), <a href="/facts/Sudan/yGeaNdvS">Sudan</a> (2.2 million), <a href="/facts/South_Sudan/DacJpKfT">South Sudan</a> (1.9 million), <a href="/facts/Pakistan/cbIsvJy1">Pakistan</a> (1.4 million), <a href="/facts/Nigeria/gbW17BX8">Nigeria</a> (1.2 million) and <a href="/facts/Somalia/3wQYwIdS">Somalia</a> (1.1 million). More than 85% of Palestinians in <a href="/facts/Gaza_Strip/GodcCxlV">Gaza</a> (1.9 million) were internally displaced as of January 2024. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> and the <a href="/facts/United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Refugees/n02xPguc">UNHCR</a> support monitoring and analysis of worldwide IDPs through the Geneva-based <a href="/facts/Internal_Displacement_Monitoring_Centre/r381u9PF">Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre</a>. </p>