UNHCR: Supported More Than 500,000 Returned Afghan Refugees in 2025

KABUL (Hasht-e Subh) -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) states it has supported more than 500,000 Afghan refugees who returned in 2025.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 -- corresponding to 29 Dalu in the Afghan calendar -- UNHCR said it provided assistance to 78,000 women and girls among the returnees.

The agency added that it assessed the situation of more than 57,000 individuals through monitoring across all 34 provinces, an effort that strengthened community-based protection.

UNHCR Representative in Afghanistan Arafat Jamal previously stated that 5.4 million Afghan migrants have returned since 2023, the majority from Iran and Pakistan.

According to UNHCR, 2.9 million people returned in 2025 alone, marking the largest single-year return to any country in recent years.

The agency noted that this influx, equivalent to 12 percent of Afghanistan's total population, has placed severe pressure on the country's limited resources. Afghanistan was already grappling with a humanitarian crisis, a weak economy, severe drought and the aftermath of devastating earthquakes.