GCRI · Society and Human Development
Humanitarian and displacement
Conflict, persecution, disasters and other crises force people from their homes, within their own countries and across borders. Displacement is increasingly protracted, lasting years or decades. This page sets out how displacement happens and persists, how displaced populations and their needs are counted, and what evidence serves the governments, humanitarian agencies and host communities responding to it.
Humanitarian and displacement in seven parts.
- 01The questionHumanitarian and displacement: how the risk develops
- 02Across the domainsDisplacement follows failures in every domain
- 03IndicatorsWhat is measured, and how well
- 04SourcesWhere the evidence comes from
- 05DecisionsWho decides, and what the evidence serves
- 06Core questionsThe questions experts ask
- 07MechanismsDrivers and dynamics
Humanitarian and displacement: how the risk develops.
Crisis, displacement and safeguarding. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Most displacement is internal
Most people displaced by conflict and disaster remain within their own country, where they may receive less international protection than refugees.
Displacement becomes protracted
When conflict persists or homes are destroyed, displacement lasts for years. Temporary responses then need to become long-term solutions.
Hosts carry much of the burden
Most refugees live in low- and middle-income countries near their homeland, where host communities share services and jobs.
Disasters displace repeatedly
Floods and storms displace large numbers each year, often temporarily, and some people are displaced again and again.
Hazards now in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Population density, flood water and active fires over Latin America and the Caribbean, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 3
Hazards now, for this page
About this layer
- Evidence
- Estimated
- Source
- Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University))
- Provider
- NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University)
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Vintage
- null; Census-based estimate, static (2020)
- Resolution
- about 1 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Census-based estimate of people per square kilometre in 2020, shown as exposure context; not a count of people affected by any hazard.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds leave gaps)
- Source
- VIIRS Global Flood Product (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-14
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds and overpass timing leave gaps)
- Source
- VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS) (NASA LANCE FIRMS)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE FIRMS
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite detection; clouds and overpass timing leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-13
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite hot-spot detections for the day shown, including gas flares and industrial heat; not a confirmed fire, an incident report or a warning.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed
- Source
- VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite image
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-14
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite image. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Modelled (latest year GIBS publishes)
- Source
- MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1) (NASA LP DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA LP DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- yearly; Satellite classification; latest year GIBS publishes
- Newest at build
- 2024-01-01
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite land cover classes for the year shown, including croplands; a classification with known errors, not a farm register.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Estimated
- Source
- GPM IMERG (NASA GES DISC)
- Provider
- NASA GES DISC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite estimate, near real time
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-12
- Resolution
- about 2 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite estimate, near real time. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Hazards now, framed on Latin America and the Caribbean.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · U.S. Geological Survey · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERTSources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
- Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Optional layers (20 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
- Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026
Displacement follows failures in every domain.
- WaterCouplingFloods and storms are leading drivers of disaster displacement.What to watchDisaster displacements
- FoodCouplingFood crises can drive movement.What to watchDisplacement and food insecurity
- HealthCouplingCamps and crowded shelters raise disease risk.What to watchOutbreaks in displacement settings
Findings are designed for the Country Systems Risk and Resilience series. UNHCR’s Global Trends and IDMC’s Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025 are the references; disaster displacement is counted in movements, not people.
- Displacement data with methods.
- Accounts from displaced communities with consent.
Humanitarian needs overview.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refugees and asylum-seekers | count by country of origin and asylum | biannual | UNHCR statistics | Published statistics |
| Internally displaced persons by conflict and violence | count | annual | IDMC estimates | ESTIMATED |
| Internal displacements by disasters | count of movements | annual | IDMC estimates | ESTIMATED |
| People in protracted refugee situations | count | annual | UNHCR statistics | Published statistics |
| Durable solutions achieved | count of returns, local integration and resettlement | annual | UNHCR and IOM records | Published statistics |
| Humanitarian funding coverage | percent of appeal requirements funded | annual | OCHA Financial Tracking Service | REPORTED |
Hazard to loss: the exceedance curve.
How often a given loss is exceeded, from a Gumbel hazard, a lognormal fragility and a protection standard; the area under the curve is the average annual loss. Teaching model with stated illustrative values, not a prediction. The map on this page shows Latin America and the Caribbean; the model itself is not tied to a place.
Controls
- Typical annual hazard intensity (location)
- 1.00 intensity index
- Spread of extremes (scale)
- 0.80 intensity index
- Intensity at which half the value is lost
- 4.00 intensity index
- Dispersion of vulnerability
- 0.55
- Share of value in the hazard footprint
- 40%
- Protection standard (return period)
- 50 years
Readouts
- Average annual loss
- 0.51% of value
- Loss at 1 in 100 years
- 24.5% of value
- Loss at 1 in 250 years
- 28.4% of value
- Intensity at 1 in 100 years
- 4.68 intensity index
Numbers, methods and sources
| Return period (years) | Intensity (intensity index) | Loss (% of value) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.09 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 1.27 | 0.00 |
| 4 | 1.91 | 0.00 |
| 7 | 2.47 | 0.00 |
| 13 | 3.00 | 0.00 |
| 24 | 3.51 | 0.00 |
| 44 | 4.02 | 0.00 |
| 82 | 4.53 | 23.55 |
| 154 | 5.03 | 26.44 |
| 287 | 5.53 | 28.87 |
| 536 | 6.03 | 30.88 |
| 1,000 | 6.53 | 32.53 |
Methods
- Gumbel extreme-value hazard Gumbel (1958), Statistics of Extremes, Columbia University Press
- Lognormal fragility (vulnerability) FEMA (2003), HAZUS-MH Technical Manual
- Exceedance-probability curve and average annual loss Grossi and Kunreuther (2005), Catastrophe Modeling, Springer
- Levee effect Di Baldassarre and others (2013), Socio-hydrology, HESS 17
- Uncertainty fan (parameter Monte Carlo) Spiegelhalter, Pearson and Short (2011), Visualising uncertainty about the future, Science 333
- One-at-a-time sensitivity (tornado) Saltelli and others (2008), Global Sensitivity Analysis: The Primer, Wiley
Data
The model runs on the teaching values set by the controls. To calibrate it for a place, read it against these admitted layers and series, which this page’s map can draw:
- Rivers Natural Earth
- Urban extents Natural Earth
- Cities Natural Earth
- Earthquakes M4.5+, past week (USGS) U.S. Geological Survey · register usgs.earthquake.summary-feeds
- Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG) NASA GPM IMERG Early · register nasa.gibs.context-live-layers
- River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo) Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), Copernicus GloFAS · register open-meteo.public-pages
- Built-up and settlement extent, 2010 (HBASE, Landsat) CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE · register sedac.context-urban-layers
Across the six pillars, led by Nexus Consortium
- Experiments Labs
- Built in Society and Human Development in Foundry
- Tested at Society and Human Development in Universe
- Codified in Governance, Security and Society in Standards
- Published in Society and Human Development in Reports
- Taught in Faculty of Health and Society in Academy
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| UNHCR Refugee Data Finder | Refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless people and solutions | Public, UNHCR terms |
| Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Global Internal Displacement Database | Conflict and disaster displacement estimates | Public, IDMC terms (to check) |
| IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix | Displaced populations, locations and needs | Public, IOM terms (to check) |
| OCHA Financial Tracking Service and Global Humanitarian Overview | Humanitarian needs and funding | Public, UN terms of use |
| Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement (World Bank and UNHCR) | Socioeconomic data on displaced people | Public, terms per dataset |
Model humanitarian and displacement as a system. Run the cascade.
Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Humanitarian and civil society: the hazards it names, the systems and sectors that carry the loss, the controls that dampen it and the data that observe it. Choose the components, pick an initiating hazard and step through the cascade. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every coupling weight is a stated assumption you can change. A teaching model, not a forecast, an assessment or a certification. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.
Hazards
Systems and couplings
- Humanitarian and civil society
- Agriculture and land use Coupling
- Health systems Coupling
- International organisations and multilaterals Coupling
- Defence and civil protection Coupling
Controls
NS-0Constitution and principlesNS-3Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)NS-9Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)NS-10Policies and clauses (machine-readable obligations: definition, binding, evaluation and enforcement)NS-11Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)NRS-C7Early warning, triggers and anticipatory actionNRS-S9System profile: NXS-AAP (Anticipatory action and triggers)NRS-H114Hazard family: Macroeconomic and fiscal shocks (NHS-1 soc.macro-fiscal)NRS-D3Humanitarian response and resilient recoveryNRS-E1Annual programme cycle, exercises and gatesNRS-H18Hazard family: Eruption products and unrest (NHS-1 geo.eruptive)
Observation
- Humanitarian Data Exchange (listed for reference)
- Financial Tracking Service (listed for reference)
- IATI Datastore (listed for reference)
- IPC food insecurity classifications (listed for reference)
- Refugee Data Finder (listed for reference)
- INFORM Risk Index (listed for reference)
- Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale
- Percentage of population exposed to or at risk from disasters protected through pre-emptive evacuation following early warning
- Number of directly affected people attributed to disasters, per 100,000 population
Example geography
- East Africa: 189 hexagonal cells
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Society and Human Development prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| Host governments | How to include displaced people in services and labour markets | Profiles; host community evidence |
| Humanitarian and development agencies | How to allocate support between emergency response and long-term solutions | Protracted displacement and funding evidence |
| Donors | Which responses and solutions to fund | Funding coverage and outcome evidence |
Outputs this topic produces
- Displacement profiles with sources and definitions stated
- Analyses of protracted displacement and solutions
- Host community impact studies
- Evidence notes for durable solutions planning
How humanitarian and displacement is modelled, measured and tested.
The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.
System model
The couplings between the systems in humanitarian and displacement: signs of influence, a reinforcing and a balancing loop, and cross-links where stress jumps.
The questions experts ask.
- Why do people leave, when, and where do they go?
- How long does displacement last, and what enables return, integration or relocation?
- How do displaced people and host communities share services, land and work?
- Which needs are unmet, and for whom?
- How can research on displaced people avoid causing harm?
Drivers and dynamics.
Displacement results from the interaction of hazards and threats with vulnerability and opportunity. Conflict and violence remain major drivers, and disasters displace large numbers of people each year, mostly within their own countries and often temporarily, though repeated events can make movement permanent. Slow-onset changes such as drought, land degradation and sea-level rise act through livelihoods and can lead to gradual out-migration.
Most displaced people live in towns and cities rather than camps, often in informal housing alongside host communities. Protracted displacement is common, and lack of legal status, documentation or the right to work prevents people from rebuilding. Planned relocation, where communities move away from hazardous places, raises difficult questions of consent, land, culture and livelihoods.
Host communities matter as much as displaced people. Rapid arrivals can strain water, schools, clinics and housing, and tensions arise when support appears to favour one group. Evidence on shared services and inclusive local planning shows that outcomes improve when both populations are considered together.
Data on people in crisis.
Displacement monitoring
Tracking of movements and needs through surveys and key informants; numbers can be uncertain and contested.
Needs assessment
Assessment of food, shelter, health and protection needs; access constraints bias coverage.
Panel and life-history studies
Following people over time to understand durable solutions; costly and hard to sustain.
Limits: data on displaced people are sensitive and can endanger them if misused. Counts often miss people living with families or in informal settlements, and figures for returns are especially uncertain.
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Social and behavioural scienceSurvey design for hard-to-reach groups · Qualitative and participatory researchApplied here
- 02Spatial statistics and geostatisticsSmall-area poverty estimation · Vulnerability and hazard overlayApplied here
- 03Causal inference and impact evaluationEvaluating cash transfers · Effects of disasters on households · Education programme evaluationApplied here
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
What is the difference between a refugee and an internally displaced person?
What is a protracted refugee situation?
What are durable solutions?
Does the platform determine refugee status?
Does the platform deliver assistance?
How are displaced people protected in research?
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