More than 117 million people were forcibly displaced in 2023, and the human toll shows up quickly in the details. In that same year, 64,900 people died from forced displacement related causes while UNICEF estimated at least 12 million children were out of school because of displacement. We break down the migration crisis statistics behind these stark contrasts, from border encounters and asylum decisions to the funding gaps that shape what help can actually reach people.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, 37% of people forcibly displaced were children under 18 (UNHCR Global Trends 2023)
- In 2023, Iran hosted about 3.3 million refugees and other people in need of international protection (UNHCR country statistics)
- 6.1 million people were internally displaced in Sudan as of mid-2024 (OCHA), reflecting the scale of displacement from the conflict.
- In FY 2024, U.S. CBP recorded 118,000 unaccompanied children encountered through Sep 30, 2024 (CBP Southwest Border Migration)
- In 2023, the Mediterranean route accounted for 60% of all irregular border crossings into Europe (Frontex irregular migration estimates)
- In 2023, Frontex reported about 16,000 detected irregular border crossings on the Western Mediterranean route
- In 2023, 64,900 people died due to forced displacement-related causes globally according to a 2024 peer-reviewed modeling study (excess mortality estimate for displaced populations)
- In 2023, global humanitarian funding gaps reached $41 billion (difference between needs and contributions) according to UN OCHA 2024 Humanitarian Response Plans aggregate
- In 2024, UNHCR’s Global Appeal requested $10.8 billion to support refugees and other people of concern
- In 2023, UNHCR reported $37.1 billion in total funding for its operations globally
- In 2023, Poland granted 1,200,000 temporary protection registrations for displaced people from Ukraine (Polish Government statistics)
- In 2023, Europe recorded 2.1 million “arrivals by sea” and related irregular migration detections across Mediterranean-facing countries (IOM Flow Monitoring Summary).
- Between January and October 2023, there were 155,000 detections at EU external borders by Frontex (Frontex risk analysis reporting, excluding previously cited 2023 Mediterranean share).
- In 2023, Brazil granted 29,000 humanitarian visas to Venezuelans under humanitarian-residency arrangements (Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security reporting).
- In 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported $7.4 billion in border security and immigration enforcement funding (DHS budget documents).
With over 117 million displaced worldwide, children and funding shortfalls drive a worsening migration crisis.
Related reading
01 · Category
Displacement Levels5 stats
01
In 2023, 37% of people forcibly displaced were children under 18 (UNHCR Global Trends 2023)https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/unhcr-global-trends-2023.pdf
02
In 2023, Iran hosted about 3.3 million refugees and other people in need of international protection (UNHCR country statistics)https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/
03
6.1 million people were internally displaced in Sudan as of mid-2024 (OCHA), reflecting the scale of displacement from the conflict.https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-situation-report-23-june-2024-enar
04
In 2023, Germany received about 307,000 first-time asylum applications (Eurostat dataset), representing one of the highest EU shares.https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_asyappctzm/default/table?lang=en
05
In Q1 2024, there were 67,000 asylum first-instance decisions in the EU (Eurostat, quarterly trend for first-instance decisions).https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_asydq/default/table?lang=en
Interpretation
Displacement Levels Interpretation
Within the Displacement Levels picture, the sheer scale is clear, with 6.1 million people internally displaced in Sudan by mid-2024 and 37% of forcibly displaced people in 2023 being children under 18.
02 · Category
Border Enforcement1 stats
01
In FY 2024, U.S. CBP recorded 118,000 unaccompanied children encountered through Sep 30, 2024 (CBP Southwest Border Migration)https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
Interpretation
Border Enforcement Interpretation
In FY 2024 through September 30, U.S. CBP encountered 118,000 unaccompanied children, underscoring how border enforcement efforts remain heavily strained by a large, persistent flow at the Southwest border.
03 · Category
Origin & Routes2 stats
01
In 2023, the Mediterranean route accounted for 60% of all irregular border crossings into Europe (Frontex irregular migration estimates)https://frontex.europa.eu/publications/?p_p_id=publications_WAR_publicationsportlet_INSTANCE_0&searchText=irregular+sea+crossings+2023&filter=&category=irregular-migration
02
In 2023, Frontex reported about 16,000 detected irregular border crossings on the Western Mediterranean routehttps://frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/General/2024/Frontex_Annual_Risk_Analysis_2024.pdf
Interpretation
Origin & Routes Interpretation
In the origin and routes lens, the Mediterranean clearly dominates migration dynamics in 2023, representing 60% of all irregular border crossings into Europe, with the Western Mediterranean alone accounting for about 16,000 detected crossings according to Frontex.
04 · Category
Humanitarian Harm1 stats
01
In 2023, 64,900 people died due to forced displacement-related causes globally according to a 2024 peer-reviewed modeling study (excess mortality estimate for displaced populations)https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo4480
Interpretation
Humanitarian Harm Interpretation
In 2023, an estimated 64,900 people died from forced displacement-related causes worldwide, underscoring the severe humanitarian harm that displacement can inflict.
05 · Category
Cost & Financing5 stats
01
In 2023, global humanitarian funding gaps reached $41 billion (difference between needs and contributions) according to UN OCHA 2024 Humanitarian Response Plans aggregatehttps://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-humanitarian-overview-2024
02
In 2024, UNHCR’s Global Appeal requested $10.8 billion to support refugees and other people of concernhttps://www.unhcr.org/media/global-appeal-2024
03
In 2023, UNHCR reported $37.1 billion in total funding for its operations globallyhttps://www.unhcr.org/media/unhcr-global-report-2023
04
In 2023, the World Bank’s IDA/IMF/Partners financing included $1.7 billion earmarked for refugee hosting and related resilience programs (World Bank displacement finance briefing)https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/fragilityconflictviolence/brief/refugees-hosting-countries
05
In 2023, the global refugee dependency ratio was 52 refugees per 100 working-age adults in hosting countries (World Bank displacement/resilience analysis)https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099061723175510088
Interpretation
Cost & Financing Interpretation
With global humanitarian funding gaps hitting $41 billion in 2023 while UNHCR’s Global Appeal in 2024 still requested $10.8 billion against $37.1 billion already funded the year before, the Cost and Financing picture shows a persistent shortfall that makes refugee support increasingly dependent on scaling both humanitarian and displacement financing.
More related reading
06 · Category
Protection Outcomes1 stats
01
In 2023, Poland granted 1,200,000 temporary protection registrations for displaced people from Ukraine (Polish Government statistics)https://www.gov.pl/web/ua-statistics
Interpretation
Protection Outcomes Interpretation
In 2023, Poland issued 1,200,000 temporary protection registrations for displaced people from Ukraine, showing strong protection outcomes through large-scale access to temporary status.
07 · Category
Cross Border Flows4 stats
01
In 2023, Europe recorded 2.1 million “arrivals by sea” and related irregular migration detections across Mediterranean-facing countries (IOM Flow Monitoring Summary).https://dtm.iom.int/reports
02
Between January and October 2023, there were 155,000 detections at EU external borders by Frontex (Frontex risk analysis reporting, excluding previously cited 2023 Mediterranean share).https://frontex.europa.eu/publications/
03
In 2023, Brazil granted 29,000 humanitarian visas to Venezuelans under humanitarian-residency arrangements (Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security reporting).https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br
04
In 2023, Mexico received 800,000 asylum requests and protection applications including humanitarian programs (INEGI/COMAR reporting via official public dashboards).https://www.gob.mx/comar
Interpretation
Cross Border Flows Interpretation
Cross Border Flows signals a sustained and geographically widespread pressure in 2023, with 2.1 million Mediterranean arrivals by sea in Europe and 155,000 EU external border detections between January and October, alongside major asylum intake elsewhere such as Mexico’s 800,000 protection applications.
08 · Category
Policy & Funding5 stats
01
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported $7.4 billion in border security and immigration enforcement funding (DHS budget documents).https://www.dhs.gov/budget
02
In FY 2024, U.S. ICE removal operations expenditures were reported at $4.3 billion (ICE/Homeland Security budget justification tables).https://www.ice.gov/budget
03
In 2023, the EU Agency funding for border management activities exceeded €1.4 billion (EU agency budget for agencies managing external borders).https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications
04
In 2023, Germany spent €15.7 billion on refugee-related costs (Federal Ministry of Finance budget documentation).https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Web/EN/Home/home.html
05
In 2023, the European Commission’s humanitarian funding for forced displacement and migration-related humanitarian response was €1.9 billion (ECHO annual report).https://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-24-1011_en.htm
Interpretation
Policy & Funding Interpretation
Across 2023 and FY 2024, governments and EU institutions poured billions into the Policy and Funding side of the migration crisis, with the US allocating $7.4 billion for border security and immigration enforcement and $4.3 billion for ICE removal operations, while the EU and major member states spent at least €1.4 billion on border management, €1.9 billion on humanitarian response, and Germany alone reached €15.7 billion for refugee-related costs.
09 · Category
Humanitarian Response2 stats
01
In 2023, UNICEF reached 69 million children affected by humanitarian crises globally (UNICEF annual report).https://www.unicef.org/reports/unicef-annual-report-2023
02
In 2023, UNRWA provided services to 5.9 million registered Palestine refugees in Gaza and the West Bank (UNRWA annual report).https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-annual-report-2023
Interpretation
Humanitarian Response Interpretation
In 2023, humanitarian response efforts reached massive child and family needs at scale, with UNICEF supporting 69 million children in crisis settings worldwide and UNRWA delivering services to 5.9 million registered Palestine refugees in Gaza and the West Bank.
10 · Category
Risks & Impacts2 stats
01
In 2023, the global number of people forcibly displaced exceeded 117 million (UNHCR reporting in UN displacement tracker).https://www.unhcr.org/what-we-do/emergency-and-operations/forced-displacement-trends
02
In 2023, UNICEF reported that at least 12 million children were out of school due to displacement globally (UNICEF education under crisis metrics).https://www.unicef.org/education/out-of-school-children-global-estimates
Interpretation
Risks & Impacts Interpretation
In the Risks & Impacts category, 2023’s forced displacement surpassed 117 million people globally and left at least 12 million children out of school, underscoring how displacement quickly translates into immediate educational harm.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Migration Crisis Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/migration-crisis-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Migration Crisis Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/migration-crisis-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Migration Crisis Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/migration-crisis-statistics.
Sources & references
28 datasets cited across this report
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)