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This year will likely surpass all previous years' records for global forcible displacement, 

according to a new study from the U.N.'s refugee agency.


"As the number of refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide continued to grow in 2015, it is likely that this figure has far surpassed 60 million," the U.N. said 

Here's another way to think about it: "In a global context, that means that one person in every 122 has been forced to flee their home," the U.N. says.

 in the U.N. refugee agency's report, which focused on the first half of 2015:



The rising figure is being fueled by the continuing conflict in Syria. The war, which started in 2011, is the "single biggest generator worldwide of both new refugees and continuing mass internal and external displacement,"


The U.N. projected that 1 million migrants will make the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean this year. That's almost five times the number recorded in 2014, 

the International Organization for Migration reports.

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spoke to Morning Edition on Thursday from Turkey,

 which is a major route for migrants heading to Europe. She says that despite the cold weather and a new EU agreement with Turkey designed to stem the flow, refugees continue to make the crossing.


She spoke with Tracy Lucas, a project coordinator for Mercy Corps in Izmir, Turkey:

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Merrit Kennedy

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A new study from the U.N.'s refugee agency says the number of forcibly displaced people globally is likely to top 60 million in 2015.

U.N.: 2015 forcible displacement figures likely to break all past records

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