Disasters triggered 2.6 million displacements, fewer than in 2020. Floods were less intense and widespread, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total, compared with 98 per cent the previous year. Volcanic activity, drought, storms, earthquakes, and wildfires accounted for the remaining 40 per cent. Some disasters displaced people in areas already coping with the impacts of conflicts and violence, and these overlapping crises pushed millions of people into acute food insecurity. Many countries recorded their worst ever levels, including famine conditions.

There were 27.2 million people living in internal displacement across the region as a result of conflict, violence and disasters at the end of the year, an increase of 3.1 million on the figure for 2020. IDPs came under attack in several countries, forcing some to flee again, increasing their vulnerability and impeding humanitarian access. These concerning trends are a reminder of the urgent need to scale up efforts to address and reduce internal displacement in the region.

A number of countries have adopted promising practices. These include the life-saving evacuation of people before disasters strike, and better tracking of the duration of displacement with the aim of providing more tailored responses for those affected. Government-led return operations also took place in at least five countries. These positive developments, however, face a number of challenges.

Disasters also triggered fewer internal displacements in 2021 at 233,000, the lowest figure since 2018. Floods accounted for most at 178,000, followed by earthquakes and storms. The trend toward lower figures, however, should be read with caution. The region was affected by severe drought during the year, which caused water scarcity and wildfires from Algeria to Iran, but no countries were monitoring associated displacement systematically, which means the overall figures are conservative. As of the end of the year, around 49,000 people were living in displacement as a result of disasters across the region.

The effects of La Niña manifested across different countries for the second year in a row. Storms hit the South Pacific and East and South-East Asia, triggering more than eight million displacements, the vast majority in the form of pre-emptive evacuations. Floods prompted around 5.3 million. Flooding was particularly intense in China, where one event in Henan province in July triggered around 1.5 million displacements.

Conflict and violence led to 626,000 internal displacements across the region, three times the figure for 2020 and the highest since 2017. This was mostly the result of escalating conflict in Myanmar, particularly after the military takeover in February. Around 448,000 displacements were recorded, the highest figure ever for the country but still a conservative estimate. The conflict also overlapped with disasters, further aggravating the humanitarian situation. About 2.8 million people were living in internal displacement in East Asia and the Pacific as of the end of the year, 896,000 of them as a result of conflict and violence.

Conflict and violence also accounted for more than 736,000 displacements, the vast majority of which took place in Afghanistan. As US and NATO troops began their final withdrawal and the Taliban clashed with government forces, insecurity and deteriorating humanitarian conditions triggered 723,000, the highest figure ever recorded for the country.

Around 6.9 million people were living in internal displacement across the region at the end of the year, 5.4 million as a result of conflict and violence and 1.5 million as a result of disasters.

Conflict and violence triggered 381,000 displacements, mostly in Colombia and Central America, and a surge in criminal violence led to the highest figure ever recorded for Haiti. We also obtained data on displacement due to violence in Brazil for the first time, but here as elsewhere in the region the information compiled is unlikely to reflect the full reality as in many countries this type of displacement is not collected systematically.

Violence prompted at least 61,000 internal displacements, the highest figure for the region since 2016. Two days of border clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan accounted for 56,000 or just over 90 per cent of the total. Very few displacements were recorded in Ukraine in 2021, but Russia’s military offensive in February 2022 has led Ukraine to become the largest and most rapidly evolving internal displacement situation in the world.