Forcibly displaced people in Australia

Australia: Forcibly displaced people was 116,340 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
116,340
Change on year
down 3.7%
World rank
76th
of 180 countries
All-time high
144,979
in 2022
All-time low
25,504
in 2010
Years of data
16
2010–2025

Forcibly displaced people in Australia, 2010–2025

25.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k150.0k2010201720252010: 25.5k2011: 28.6k2012: 41.1k2013: 48.0k2014: 57.0k2015: 57.7k2016: 71.8k2017: 96.5k2018: 117.6k2019: 135.9k2020: 138.2k2021: 138.4k2022: 145.0k2023: 117.1k2024: 120.8k2025: 116.3k

Source: Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Analysis

In 2025, forcibly displaced people in Australia stood at 116,340.

That represents a change of down 3.7% on the previous year and up 101.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, forcibly displaced people in Australia peaked at 144,979 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 25,504, in 2010.

That places Australia 76th out of 180 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 67,968 25,504 135,891 10
2020s 129,310 116,340 144,979 6

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 73 Norway 130,286 compare
  2. 74 Armenia 124,085 compare
  3. 75 Burundi 119,066 compare
  4. 77 Bulgaria 106,913 compare
  5. 78 Finland 104,423 compare
  6. 79 Honduras 101,711 compare

See the full ranking of 227 places →

More social development data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is forcibly displaced people in Australia?
Forcibly displaced people in Australia was 116,340 in 2025, according to Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
What is the highest forcibly displaced people recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 144,979 in 2022.
What is the lowest forcibly displaced people recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 25,504 in 2010.
How does Australia rank for forcibly displaced people?
Australia ranks 76th out of 180 countries with data for 2025.
Is forcibly displaced people rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 101.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), published as part of Forcibly displaced people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Forcibly displaced people
Source
Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
227 places, 3,518 data points, 2010–2025
Last refreshed

Forcibly displaced people are represented by the sum of (1) refugees (and people in a refugee-like situation) under the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), (2) refugees under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), (3) asylum-seekers, (4) other people in need of international protection, and (5) internally displaced people (IDPs). Situations in which people are reported in more than one of these categories are accounted for, to the extent possible.