WHO. Refugee and migrant health

Key facts

About 1 in 8 people (or more than a billion) are on the move globally.

Of this total, an estimated 304 million are international migrants (2024), double the number in 1990 (154 million). This includes approximately 170 million migrant workers and 7 million international students.

It is estimated that 117.3 million people are forcibly displaced, including 73.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), 36.4 million refugees, and 8.4 million asylum seekers. Among them, 49 million are children, and 2.3 million were born into refugee life.

Human mobility is expected to continue growing, driven by poverty, insecurity, limited access to basic services, conflict, environmental degradation and disasters. Health systems must be equipped to respond to these evolving needs.

Displacement and migration can have both positive and negative health impacts. Their social and economic contributions, such as remittances, can improve access to services in countries of origin, while restrictive environments in transit and destination countries may pose health risks

Refugees and migrants often experience poorer health outcomes due to language and cultural barriers, institutional discrimination and restrictive policies that limit access to or use of health services. (WHO, Genf, 26.03.2026)

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/refugee-and-migrant-health