With more than 443,000 individuals reported to have returned and over a quarter of surveyed refugees in neighbouring countries expressing an intent to do so this year, a sharp increase in returns is anticipated. However, the conditions within Syria remain acutely fragile. Fourteen years of conflict have devastated infrastructure, degraded public services, fractured governance, and precipitated a severe economic collapse. In this context, clear and immediate support to ensure stability inside the country alongside strategic, sustained investments and principled policy shift, without which there is increased risk of overwhelming local systems and undermining early recovery gains made to date.
This report draws on over 4,300 interviews and surveys conducted between December 2024 and February 2025 across Syria, including perspectives from refugee returnees, internally displaced Syrians (IDP), as well as humanitarian staff. It identifies six critical barriers to sustainable return that include destroyed infrastructure and basic service gaps, disrupted education, economic collapse and livelihood insecurity, housing, land and property challenges; safety and social cohesion concerns. These challenges are deeply interlinked and compound one another, but they are not insurmountable.
