One in every five people in Sudan was internally displaced in 2025

Key Takeaways

Sudan has the highest displacement burden in Africa, with 10.1 million IDPs and 20% of its population affected.
Somalia follows with 18.4% of its population displaced.
High-intensity displacement is concentrated in conflict-prone regions like the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.
Burkina Faso (8.8%) and the Central African Republic (8.4%) show how smaller countries can face severe proportional impact.
Nigeria’s 3.6 million IDPs are one of the largest in absolute terms, but at 1.5%, the relative impact is lower than many peers.

There’s a difference between the number of people displaced and the depth of displacement in a country. Across Africa, the scale is massive, but the intensity tells a sharper story. Sudan leads on both fronts: 10.1 million internally displaced persons and about 20% of its population affected.

What stands out next is how uneven the burden is. Countries like Somalia (18.4%) and Burkina Faso (8.8%) show high displacement rates relative to their populations, meaning the disruption is deeply felt across society. Meanwhile, Nigeria, despite having 3.6 million IDPs, records just 1.5% of its population displaced—large in absolute terms, but comparatively less intense.

Source:

United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights/one-in-every-five-people-in-sudan-was-internally-displaced-in-2025/" title="One in every five people in Sudan was internally displaced in 2025"><img src="https://intelpoint.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IDPs-in-Africa-scaled.webp" style="width: 80%; height: auto; max-width:960px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Chart: One in every five people in Sudan was internally displaced in 2025"/></a><br><span>Find more insights at <a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights?utm_source=Insight%20Embed&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=One+in+every+five+people+in+Sudan+was+internally+displaced+in+2025" target="_blank" style="color: #4f9acc; text-decoration: none;">Intelpoint</a>.</span></div>Copied to clipboard!

Period:

2025

HTML code to embed chart

Want a bespoke report?

Reach out

Related Insights

East Africa dominates Africa's Crime Index, but Nigeria stands out as the highest-ranked West African country

DR Congo had Africa’s highest criminality score in 2025 at 7.5.
South Africa ranked second at 7.4, while Nigeria occupied third spot at 7.3.
Kenya was the highest-ranked East African country at 7.2.
The gap between the highest (7.5) and lowest score (1.8) is wide — 5.7.

Africa’s Crime Index is highest in East Africa, while rising fastest in North Africa

East Africa has the highest Crime Index in Africa (6.02).
North Africa is experiencing the fastest rise in criminality (+0.57 since 2019).
West Africa remains one of the most exposed regions (5.49).
Southern Africa has the lowest index (4.88) but is still increasing.
All African regions recorded an increase in criminality between 2019 and 2025.

6 of the 14 countries with over 1 million displaced people are in Africa

Sudan leads globally with 10.1 million IDPs.
6 out of 14 countries with over 1 million IDPs are in Africa.
Syria has the highest displacement intensity (26.2% of its population).
Nigeria’s 3.6 million IDPs are large in absolute terms but represent only 1.5% of its population.
DR Congo (5.2mn) and Somalia (3.5mn) continue to face chronic, multi-year displacement crises.
Non-African countries like Colombia (7.1 million) and Ukraine (3.8 million) show that displacement is a global issue.

Illegal lab-made drugs lead Nigeria’s crime markets with a score of 8.5 out of 10

Illegal lab-made drugs are Nigeria’s highest-scoring crime market at 8.5.
Six other markets score 8.0, showing broad criminal-market severity.
Human trafficking remains one of Nigeria’s most entrenched illicit markets.
Financial crimes also remain a top-tier threat with a score of 8.0.
Resource-related criminality is also severe, with non-renewable resource crimes at 8.0. Wildlife crime is not marginal; it scores 7.5.
Cyber-dependent crimes are lower than the top criminal markets, but still elevated at 6.5.

Each Nigerian president since 2011 has won with fewer votes than his predecessor

Bola Tinubu won the 2023 election with just 36.6% of the valid votes.
There is a clear downward trend in winners’ vote share since 2011, with each election producing a less dominant winner.
Peak dominance occurred in 2007, when Umaru Musa Yar'Adua won with 69.6% of the votes.
The total votes secured by winners have dropped sharply, from over 24 million (2003–2007) to 8.8 million in 2023.
In 2023, over 60% of valid votes went to candidates who lost.

Nigeria’s serving governors average 60 years of age as of March 2026

Nigeria’s youngest serving governor is Usman Ahmed Ododo of Kogi state at 48 years old.
The oldest serving governors are Bala Mohammed and Hope Uzodimma, both aged 67.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is 73 years old, making him older than every sitting governor.
Tinubu is 25 years older than the youngest governor and six years older than the oldest governors.
A number of governors are in their late 50s, including Seyi Makinde, Hyacinth Alia, and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
The age distribution suggests that Nigeria’s state leadership is largely dominated by experienced, older political figures rather than younger politicians.