Displaced persons
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 63.912 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Refugees | 15.483 million |
| IDPs | 37.494 million |
| Asylum seekers | 3.219 million |
| People in refugee-like situation | 637,534 |
Forced displacement or forced migration is the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region and it often connotes violent coercion. Someone who has experienced forced displacement is a "forced migrant" or a "displaced person" (DP), or if it is within the same country, an internally displaced person (IDP). In some cases the forced migrant can also become a refugee, as that term has a specific legal definition. A specific form of forced displacement is population transfer, which is a coherent policy to move unwanted persons, for example, as an attempt at "ethnic cleansing". Another form is deportation.
Forced displacement has accompanied persecution, as well as war, throughout human history but has only become a topic of serious study and discussion relatively recently. This increased attention is the result of greater ease of travel, allowing displaced persons to flee to nations far removed from their homes, the creation of an international legal structure of human rights, and the realizations that the destabilizing effects of forced migration, especially in parts of Africa, the Middle East, south and central Asia, ripple out well beyond the immediate region.
The concept of forced displacement envelopes demographic movements like flight, evacuation, displacement, and resettlement. The International Organization for Migration defines a forced migrant as any person who migrates to "escape persecution, conflict, repression, natural and human-made disasters, ecological degradation, or other situations that endanger their lives, freedom or livelihood".
The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) defines it as "a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects."
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