Publication
12 January 2021
Unveiling the cost of internal displacement
This report provides country-level estimates on the economic impact of displacement in 22 countries. To do this it uses IDMC’s original methodology.
Internal displacement can have a destabilising effect on the lives of those forced to flee their homes, often with significant financial repercussions. It can limit the ability of internally displaced people (IDPs) to contribute to the economy and generate specific needs that must be paid for by the IDPs themselves, host communities, government agencies and the humanitarian sector. With nearly 51 million people living in internal displacement, and an average cost per person of $390, IDMC estimates that the total global economic impact of internal displacement reached $20 billion in 2019. This estimate has increased from $13 billion, or $310 per person, in the two-year period since IDMC’s last assessment. The estimate is based on an original methodology which measures the loss of income when people are forced to flee their homes and the cost of meeting their basic needs in security, housing, health and education.
