The number of displaced people and the number of refugees who need resettlement in the world are all on the rise, UN refugee agency said days ahead of the World Refugee Day, which falls on June 20 annually.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on June 13 that the number of people forcibly displaced stood at a record 117.3 million as of the end of 2023, marking a rise for a 12th consecutive year.

"These are refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, people being forced away by conflict, by persecution, by different and increasingly complex forms of violence," said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi.

UNHCR estimates that forced displacement continued to increase in the first four months of 2024, and that the number of those displaced is likely to have exceeded 120 million by the end of April.

"Unless there is a shift in international geopolitics, unfortunately, I actually see that figure continuing to go up," Grandi said, referring to the risk of new conflicts.

The conflicts that have driven displacement include the conflict in Sudan, which Grandi described as "one of the most catastrophic ones" despite garnering less attention than other crises.

More than 9 million people have been internally displaced and another 2 million have fled to neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, the UNHCR chief said.

Noting most Palestinians in Gaza are internally displaced, Grandi warned that the possible crossings of Gazans into Egypt would be catastrophic.

UNHCR also estimated in a report that more than 2.9 million refugees worldwide will need resettlement in 2025.

Noting the latest estimate marks an increase of 20 percent – equivalent to half a million refugees – compared with 2024, the report, titled the Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2025 and released in June, concluded that the prolongation of mass displacement situations, the emergence of new conflicts and the impacts of climate change caused the situation.

The report also pointed out that the increase in resettlement needs is also occurring at a time of difficult economic conditions globally, resulting in rising living costs and declining humanitarian aid.

Refugee resettlement ,which involves the relocation of refugees to a country that has agreed to admit them and grant them permanent settlement, is offered by states at their discretion.

Last year, 96,311 refugees were resettled by states, with the support of UNHCR. This is an increase of 65 percent compared with the year before and close to the target of 100,000 set out in a UNHCR 2030 Roadmap on Third Country Solutions for Refugees.

While calling on more states to redouble their efforts to ensure those who need resettlement the most have access to it, the UNHCR also warned that without the granting of asylum and the offer of resettlement places, the refugees in most acute need of support would be forgotten.

Another challenge is providing education to refugee children. At the second Global Refugee Forum on December 13, 2023 the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is joining a multistakeholder pledge to step up efforts to ensure refugee children and youth can go to school and learn.

GPE also joined the World Bank in a pledge "to work together to close the education financing gap and provide technical assistance in refugee-hosting countries."

(With input from agencies)