( CNN ) -- The number of uprooted people across the world dropped slightly last year , but new displacement this year in conflict zones like Pakistan , Somalia and Sri Lanka so far `` has already more than offset the decline , '' the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday . Pakistani displaced battle severe winds and dust at Jalozai refugee camp near Peshawar . `` Today , we are seeing a relentless series of internal conflicts that are generating millions of uprooted people , '' U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a news release . This is one of the main points in Global Trends , an annual report by the U.N. agency on developments regarding refugees , internally displaced people , asylum seekers and stateless people . The number of `` uprooted people worldwide '' in 2008 was 42 million , a drop of about 700,000 from 2007 , according to the report . `` In 2009 , we have already seen substantial new displacements , namely in Pakistan , Sri Lanka and Somalia , '' Guterres said . `` While some displacements may be short-lived , others can take years and even decades to resolve . We continue to face several longer-term internal displacement situations in places like Colombia , Iraq , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia . Each of these conflicts has also generated refugees who flee beyond their borders . '' The number of refugees and internally displaced people who returned home in 2008 was around 2 million , a decline from 2007 , the report said . Refugee repatriation , which was 604,000 , was down 17 percent . Displaced people 's returns were down by 34 percent at 1.4 million people . `` Traditionally the largest durable solution for refugees , it was the second-lowest repatriation total in 15 years , '' the report said . `` The decline in part reflects deteriorating security conditions , namely in Afghanistan and Sudan . '' The report listed other statistics and trends in 2008 : .
U.N. data shows slight decrease in global refugee numbers to 1 million in 2008 . But numbers set to rise in 2009 because of Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Afghanistan conflicts . Pakistan hosted the largest number of refugees in the world at 1.8 million . Around 2 million refugees returned home in 2009 .