Nearly 2.5 million refugees in need of resettlement by 2026
(VOVWORLD) - 2.5 million refugees worldwide would need to be resettled in 2026, at a time when the United States and several other nations are shrinking resettlement access, according to a new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
 Afghan refugees wait at the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province, Pakistan, on April 16, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) |
According to UNHCR, annual resettlement needs had decreased for the year ahead, down from 2.9 million in 2025.
The announcement came as the UNHCR’s resettlement efforts face towering hurdles. “In 2025… resettlement quotas are expected to be the lowest in two decades, falling below the levels seen even during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many countries paused their programmes,” said UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo.
Part of the decline is linked to a decision by the United States, previously the world’s biggest resettler of refugees, to suspend resettlement.