The United Nations refugee agency reported Friday that the Americas were the world’s leading region for forced displacement in 2025, with 22.8 million people classified as refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced or in need of international protection. The figure marked an increase from 21.9 million a year earlier, driven by deepening crises across Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia and northern Central America.
By the end of 2025, Colombia was hosting 2.8 million people, most of them Venezuelans, the report said. That placed Colombia ahead of Germany, Turkey and Uganda as the world’s largest recipient of refugees and people in need of international protection. The UN agency cited regularization policies implemented by Bogotá that have granted millions of migrants access to documentation, employment and basic services, facilitating their integration into host communities.
The Venezuelan exodus remained one of the primary drivers of regional displacement. According to the report, 417,000 Venezuelans were registered as refugees and another 6 million were in need of international protection by the end of 2025, with the vast majority remaining in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, known as R4V, estimates that nearly 7 million Venezuelans live outside their country. While returns to Venezuela have increased in recent years, a survey conducted in six countries found that only 9% of displaced Venezuelans plan to return within the next 12 months, with most conditioning their return on improvements in living conditions.
Colombia hosted the largest displaced Venezuelan population, with 2.8 million people. It was followed by Peru with 1.1 million, Brazil with 699,000, Chile with 662,600 and Ecuador with 435,800.
Haiti recorded one of the region’s most severe deteriorations. The number of internally displaced people reached 1.4 million, the UN said, an increase of 38% compared with the previous year. The International Organization for Migration reported separately in June that the figure had surpassed 1.47 million, equivalent to approximately 12% of Haiti’s population, and noted that more than half were women and girls. The agency also warned that gang violence is spreading beyond Port-au-Prince into new regions. In April, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated that more than 6 million Haitians require urgent humanitarian assistance and that gangs exercise control over approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince.
Despite its role as a host country, Colombia continues to face one of the world’s largest internal displacement crises. The Victims Unit reported that 7.2 million people remain in situations of internal displacement caused by armed conflict and violence, while the cumulative historical registry exceeds 8.9 million victims.
The report also indicated that 987,700 people from countries in the Americas sought international protection in different parts of the world during 2025, representing approximately one in five asylum applications registered globally. Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Haiti and Colombia ranked among the main countries of origin, the agency said.
Despite the overall increase in displacement, the UN refugee agency highlighted the Americas as a region that has advanced in integration policies. The report cited migrant regularization programs, access to employment and partnerships with the private sector, noting that more than 1,500 companies currently participate in initiatives to incorporate displaced people into the labor market across eight countries in the region.
“The Americas demonstrate that solidarity and shared responsibility produce real results for people and societies,” said Juan Carlos Murillo, the United Nations refugee agency official in charge of the region.