The number of people around the world uprooted by conflict or violence and displaced within their country has increased to 27.5 million, the highest figure in the past decade, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The report by the Geneva- based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, established by the Norwegian Refugee Council in 1998 at the U.N.’s request, said close to 3 million people in 20 countries were newly displaced by conflict or violence in 2010, including 1.2 million in Africa.
Although the number of internally displaced people, known as IDPs, has increased from around 17 million in 1997 to 27.5 million last year, the report said the number of refugees — who flee to another country — has fluctuated between 13 million and 16 million during the same period.
According to the report, more than half the world’s IDPs in 2010 were in five countries: Colombia, with between 3.5 million and 5.2 million; Sudan, with between 4.5 million and 5.2 million; Iraq, with about 2.8 million; Congo, with about 1.7 million; and Somalia, with about 1.5 million.
