Conflict and natural disasters

Key facts and figures

There were over 14 million refugees in 2007.
There are 26 million people displaced within their own countries by armed conflict, as well as 25 million as a result of natural disaster.
Conflicts fell by 40% between 1992 and 2004, but around 30 still remain, many of them even after a formal 'peace' deal has been agreed. The great majority of them are in poor countries.
Worldwide, conflicts between armed groups declined by a third - from 36 to 24 - between 2002 and 2006.
All conflicts combined have declined by 18% from 68 in 2002, to 56 in 2006.

The number of disasters almost trebled from 140 in 1980, to 448 in 2007.
Vast numbers of people are affected by disasters - 2.54 million in the decade from 1997-2007.
For every $1 per person spent on the tsunami, a person in the Democratic Republic of Congo conflict received 1 cent.
The tsunami got more media attention in the first six weeks after it struck, than all of the world's top 10 "forgotten" emergencies combined received in the whole year following.
By 2015, on average over 375 million people per year are likely to be affected by climate-related disasters. This is 54% more than have been affected in an average year during the last decade.

Updated: May 2009