Crisis overview
The humanitarian situation in Syria remains critical with extensive needs across all sectors due to the 14 years of conflict, climatic shocks and socio-economic challenges. In 2026, 15.6 million people have been assessed to require humanitarian assistance, a 6.59 per cent reduction compared to 2025. The decline is attributed to some nominal improvements, stricter scope setting and access to better planning data. Notably all sectors were able to conduct sector specific assessments in 2025, and a multi-sector needs assessment (MSNA) that covered the whole country was also conducted for the first time.
Following the change in authorities in December 2024, Syria witnessed major contextual changes. While humanitarian needs remain, and have expanded in some locations, some milestones progress were achieved in 2025, with potentials to lay the required groundwork for the transition from emergency relief towards recovery, reconstruction and development.
In 2025, Syria witnessed significant returns of IDPs from camps and out-of-camp locations. According to the IDP Taskforce, 1.5 million IDPs returned, and according to CCCM approximately 1.01 million returned from camps, leading to the closure of a total of 696 IDP-camps. In parallel, UNHCR reported the return of around 1.4 million Syrian refugees from keeping neighbouring countries and other locations. While the year also saw a limited increase in armed conflict in parts of the southern and coastal governorates, Aleppo governorate, as well as in northeast Syria, the overall scale and intensity of conflict declined nationwide compared to previous years, with particular notable improvements in northwest Syria.
In 2025, several important steps that are shaping the future trajectory of Syria were taken by the Government of Syria and the international community, including progress towards the easing of sanctions and the liberalisation of the economy. Syrian authorities remain committed to revitalising economic growth and improving living standards and, despite significant challenges, are making notable efforts to unify the country’s macroeconomic, fiscal, and monetary policies. In this context, recent World Bank assessments project a modest recovery of approximately one per cent gross domestic product growth in 2025. In parallel, the Government of Syria is finalising a National Recovery Plan that articulates a nationally owned vision to restore stability, rebuild institutions, and expand opportunities for all Syrians. The plan is expected to be launched in the first half of 2026.
In a move that reflects a strategic shift towards durable solutions for displacement, emphasising fiscal responsibility, social cohesion, and the gradual integration of displaced households into local economies and service systems, in line with national recovery priorities; the Government of Syria announced a ‘No Camps 2026’ policy initiative as a national priority. The initiative aims to support transitioning IDPs away from prolonged encampment towards more sustainable, dignified living arrangements. The campaign seeks to reduce long-term dependency on camps by facilitating access to housing, basic services, and livelihood opportunities within host communities and areas of return, while strengthening public financial management and resource allocation to support local absorption capacity.
Despite the highlighted positive steps and milestone achievements, the country continues to grapple with a complex humanitarian situation, including massive population displacement – both protracted and new displacements, critical gaps in basic service provision, and access across all sectors, protection concerns and the effects of the socio-economic challenges and climatic shocks. Vulnerable groups including IDPs, returnees, women and children, older people, people with disabilities, and minorities are disproportionately affected. At least 14.7 million Syrians are exposed to protection risks including 8.6 million women and girls, and 6.2 million children. 4.1 million Syrians, especially returnees face, access to documentation challenges, housing, land and property (HLP) challenges as a result of destroyed homes, lost title deeds, secondary occupancy that are also impacting negatively dignified and safe returns. Shelter remains one of the critical gaps impacting safe and dignified returns of displaced people; according to the findings of the Nationwide Housing damage assessment, at least 6.2 million Syrians need shelter repair; and 79 per cent of the damaged housing is repairable.
Syria still has one of the largest numbers of displaced people globally with over 5.5 million newly displaced and protracted IDPs and, millions of refugees in neighbouring countries and beyond. Protection threats and security and safety concerns continue to be reported in some parts of the country including the southern and coastal governorates, and parts of northeast Syria. The new displacements recorded in 2025 occurred as a result of multiple causes including conflict and natural disasters, including wildfires in the coastal and central governorates, and floods. Some returnees who could not successfully integrate in their areas of return also ended up being displaced.
According to the findings of the 2025 Food Security Assessment, 13.3 million Syrians are food-insecure, with about 7.2 million (FSA) acutely food-insecure, of whom 0.7 million are severely food-insecure. In 2025 drought conditions devastated 95 per cent of the rainfed crops, access to sufficient water, reduction of livestock, among many other impacts that triggered urgent seed, fertilizers, animal feed, and irrigation support to prevent market collapse. According to the findings of the 2025 Nutrition Standardised Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART), acute malnutrition (wasting) increased to 5.5 per cent in 2025 (up from 1.7 per cent in 2019), leaving about 587,000 children requiring life-saving treatment, while stunting reached 17.1 per cent.
Syria is heavily contaminated with Explosive Ordnance (EO) and is ranked the second most contaminated country in the world. EO incidents are not only one of the major causes of civilian harm, but are also undermining recovery efforts, including agricultural livelihoods and the return of displaced people. Between 8 December 2024 to 31 December 2025, 909 EO incidents that resulted in the deaths of 606 civillians and injury of 1.061 were recorded. EO incidents overwhelmingly occur in pastoral and agricultural settings, rendering farming, grazing, and scrap-metal collection among the most dangerous activities for civilians. At least 640 incidents recorded since 8 December 2024 took place in agricultural or grazing land: with Deir-ez-Zor, Aleppo, and Idlib being the most affected governorates. More than 60 per cent of casualties are men - pointing strongly to the link between pursuit of livelihoods and increased exposure to explosive hazards. Children were frequently injured or killed while playing or moving in contaminated areas. EO contamination continued to impede safe return, freedom of movement, humanitarian access, and economic recovery, with partners assessing that actual casualty figures are likely significantly higher due to underreporting.
Children in Syria face heightened protection and survival risks. They continue to be disproportionately affected by hostilities, insecurity, EO contamination, and harmful coping strategies, underscoring the urgent need to scale up child protection, education, nutrition, and mental health and psychosocial support interventions to prevent irreversible harm. According to the Mine Action Area of Responsibility (AoR), children account for nearly one third of EO casualties recorded since December 2024. Children are frequently killed or injured while playing in grazing areas, abandoned military sites, or agricultural land. Of the 1.9 million IDPs who returned in 2025, at least 51 per cent are children, with many returning to locations with limited availability of basic services including education. Education gaps are widening; with increased pressure on education-facilities due to population growth and increased demand for services in areas of return, about 32 per cent of children are out of school or rarely attending, and a further 1 million children (or 11 per cent) are at risk of dropping out, while over 8,000 schools (30 per cent of the schools in Syria are non-functional).
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains widespread and is exacerbated by economic hardship and insufficient risk mitigation measures, placing women, adolescent girls, and female heads of household (FHHs) at heightened risk. Displacement, disability, lack of documentation, widowhood, and family separation further compound their vulnerabilities. Access to lifesaving GBV services continues to be constrained by stigma and fear of identification, long distances to service points, concerns around confidentiality, and the limited availability of trained female staff.
Access to other essential basic services remains constrained for Syrians across all sectors. Only about 57 per cent of hospitals and 30 per cent of primary health care centers are fully functional. The situation is further compounded by recurrent outbreaks of acute watery diarrhea and cholera with at least 1,500 alerts reported in 2025 (AWD) alone. At the same time, low vaccination coverage, shortages of medicines for non-communicable diseases, and persistent gaps in maternal and newborn care increase the risk of further deterioration in health outcomes.
Attacks on health care continue to undermine service delivery across Syria. In 2025, 33 verified attacks on health facilities, transport, and logistics sites were recorded, further compounding barriers to accessing medical care, particularly in areas affected by conflict and insecurity.
At the same time, up to 12 million Syrians have limited access to water and sanitation services, with displaced populations disproportionately affected. At least 70 per cent of camps lack access to piped water, while 50 per cent have no sewage connections. These challenges were further exacerbated by the drought conditions that severely affected Syria in 2025.
More broadly, Syrians continue to grapple with the long-term effects of socio-economic deterioration resulting from more than fourteen years of crisis. At least one quarter of the population now lives in extreme poverty, below the Low-Income Country international poverty line of 2.15 US$ per person per day, measured in 2017 purchasing power parity, while 67 per cent live below the Lower Middle Income poverty line of $3.65 per person per day.
Syria is also highly exposed to climatic shocks. In 2025, the country experienced its most severe drought like conditions in nearly 40 years, according to the (FAO) drought alert, with major impacts on food security and water availability. FAO estimates that at least 16.2 million people were affected by the 2025 wheat production deficit, which reached an estimated 2.7 million tons. At the same time, nearly 10 million people are struggling to meet their basic water needs, according to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector (WASH).
