The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says more than 5.4 million Afghan migrants have returned from neighbouring countries since late 2023, warning that the scale of returns is placing severe pressure on humanitarian assistance.
The agency said it requires $216 million to support returnees and internally displaced people, but only 8 percent of the needed funding has been secured so far.
According to UNHCR figures, more than 150,000 Afghan migrants have returned from neighbouring states since the beginning of this year. The organisation warned that aid efforts, amid the arrival of thousands of people each day, are under severe strain and beyond existing capacity.
UNHCR representative Arafat Jamal told a press conference in Geneva on Friday that the speed and scale of the returns have pushed Afghanistan deeper into crisis. Afghanistan is already facing worsening hunger, intensified by mass deportations from Iran and Pakistan, declining foreign aid and continuing economic turmoil.
Jamal said the return of millions of people equivalent to about 12 percent of Afghanistan’s population has pushed the humanitarian response system to the brink.
A recent World Bank report found that rapid population growth driven by returns contributed to a 4 percent decline in per capita GDP in 2025. A new UNHCR survey also found that more than half of returning families lacked identity documents, while over 90 percent were living on less than $5 a day.
The survey showed that 5 percent of returnees plan to leave Afghanistan again, and more than 10 percent reported that a relative or community member had already departed again after returning.
The United Nations said that, given the severe humanitarian situation and the rapidly growing population, urgent additional support will be needed in 2026 to expand aid programmes and invest in reintegration efforts.
