Record Number Of People Displaced In 2015 - UN

The number of refugees, asylum seekers and forcibly displaced people reached 65.3 million by the end of 2015, the highest-ever recorded level, according to a new report.   The new figures mean that one person in every 113 worldwide is now forcibly displaced, with the UN's refugee agency saying that conflict, persecution and a lack of political solutions has caused the sharp escalation in numbers.   It is the first time that the 60-million threshold has ever been crossed, meaning that there are now people who have been forced to flee their homes than the entire UK population.   Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, said: "I hope that the message carried by those forcibly displaced reaches the leaderships: We need action, political action, to stop conflicts.   "The message that they have carried is: 'If you don't solve problems, problems will come to you'."Just over half of refugees in 2015 were children, according to UNHCR data, with 98,400 asylum requests coming from children who had been separated from their parents or were travelling unaccompanied.   The UNHCR recorded 3.2 million people in industrialised countries who were awaiting asylum decisions, 21.3 million refugees worldwide and 40.8 million people who were displaced in their country of origin.   Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia accounted for more than half of the world's refugees, with displacement figures rising 50% since 2011, the year the Syrian conflict began.   The year 2014 had already seen the highest number of displaced people, but that was topped by nearly 10%, according to the new Global Trends Report, released to mark World Refugee Day.Turkey took in the most people, with 2.5 million people hosted in the country, nearly all from neighbouring Syria.   Afghan neighbour Pakistan took in 1.6 million refugees, while Lebanon - also next to Syria - hosted 1.1 million.   More than a million people fled to Europe in 2015.   Germany received the highest number of asylum requests (441,900), increasing its refugee population by 46% from 2014. The refugee agency has called on European leaders to do more to end the conflicts that have forced people from their homelands.   Mr Grandi said: "There is no plan B for Europe in the long run.   "Europe will continue to receive people seeking asylum. Their numbers may vary ... but it is inevitable."   Source : Sky News