Adel Abdelrheem and Rania Abushamala
27 January 2026•Update: 27 January 2026
KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced Monday that more than 3.3 million Sudanese people, displaced both internally and externally, returned to nearly 2,500 locations across nine states in their country in November 2025, marking a 10% increase compared to the previous month.
The figures were included in an IOM report covering the period Nov. 1-30, 2025, based on data collected from more than 12,000 sites in 185 localities across all 18 states of Sudan.
The organization said that an estimated 3,334,705 people returned to 2,500 locations in 65 localities across nine Sudanese states.
According to the report, 83% of the returnees came from internal displacement, while 17% returned from outside the country.
Children under the age of 18 accounted for 55% of internally displaced returnees and 45% of those returning from abroad.
The IOM noted that 9,258,273 people remain internally displaced across 11,194 locations in 185 localities nationwide.
The number of internally displaced persons in Sudan had previously peaked at around 11.5 million, before gradually declining, due to returns, to about 9.3 million, according to the latest UN statistics.
The organization said internal displacement has decreased by 20% compared to its peak level, and by 1% compared to the previous month.
It added that the number of internally displaced people declined in 11 of Sudan’s 18 states compared to the previous month, while it increased in Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur, South Kordofan, White Nile, and Khartoum.
On Dec. 17, the IOM said it recorded in October 2025 the return of 3,027,446 people to their areas of origin or nearby locations, including 2,260,735 who returned from internal displacement and 566,711 who returned from outside Sudan.
Of Sudan’s 18 states, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controls all five states in the western Darfur region, except for parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army holds most areas of the remaining 13 states across the country, including the capital Khartoum.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
