Nearly 60 million people have been driven from their homes by war and persecution, according to the new figures released by the United Nations refugee agency.
This unprecedented global exodus paints a staggering picture of a world where new conflicts are erupting and old ones are refusing to subside, driving up the total number of displaced people to a record 59.5 million by the end of 2014 with half of the displaced being children.
According to the annual report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, tens of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes every day and "seek protection elsewhere" last year.
Tens of millions of others fled in previous years and remain stuck, sometimes for decades, unable to go home or find a permanent new one, according to the refugee agency.
One in four refugees now finds shelter in the world's poorest countries, with Ethiopia and Kenya taking many more refugees than, say, Britain and France.
As the report states, "the global distribution of refugees remains heavily skewed away from wealthier nations and towards the less wealthy."
"For an age of unprecedented mass displacement, we need an unprecedented humanitarian response and a renewed global commitment to tolerance and protection for people fleeing conflict and persecution," António Guterres, the high commissioner for refugees, said in a statement accompanying the annual report.
Amnesty International, in a report issued this week, accused governments and smugglers alike of pursuing "selfish political interests instead of showing basic human compassion."
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