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Record of asylum applications over the last 22 years
Mariana Andrei - Communication Coordinator
23 June 2015
The wars in Syria and Iraq and the armed conflicts, human right abuses and the worsening of humanitarian and security conditions in other countries generated last year the highest number of asylum applications in the last 22 years. According to the UNHCR report "Global Trends on Forced Displacement in 2014", about 866,000 new asylum applications were filed in industrialised countries during the year, a 45% increase from 2013, when 596,600 applications were filed. This figure is a record since the burst of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992.
Syrians, Iraqi and Afghani people in the top of asylum seekers
The largest group requesting asylum last year were Syrians, namely 150,000 applications. They were followed by Iraqi with 68,700 applications, almost double than in 2013, and by Afghani with about 60,000 applications. The industrialised country which received the highest number of asylum seekers in 2014 was Germany, with over 173,000 applications, with Syrians making up for one quarter of all asylum seekers. The United States received 121,200 asylum applications, mostly from Mexico and Central American countries. Turkey, which at the end of 2014 was hosting more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees, received 87,800 new asylum applications in 2014, mostly from Iraqi citizens. According to an IOM press release, the Russian Federation, which is not included in this report for methodological reasons, received more than 264,400 asylum applications from Ukrainian citizens in 2014. At the same time the number of Ukrainians who sought asylum in the 44 countries covered by the report raised from 1,400 in 2013 to 15,700 in 2014.
The countries with the highest number of applications: Germany, the United States, Turkey
The distribution of asylum applications among the 44 countries covered by the report was of course not uniform. The first five countries (Germany, the United States, Turkey, Sweden and Italy) stood for 60% of the total number of new asylum applications. As regards the ratio to the country's population, Sweden has the largest number of asylum seekers (24.4 asylum seekers per 1000 inhabitants on average, during the last five years), followed by Malta, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Montenegro. At the other end, Australia recorded a 24% drop in the number of asylum seekers, from 11,700 in 2013 to less than 9,000 in 2014.
The report shows a worrisome increase in the number of persons forcibly displaced worldwide, from 51.2 million people in 2013 to 59.5 million people at the end of 2014. This is the highest increase recorded in one year (four times higher than in 2010), as a result of persecutions, conflicts, generalized violence and human rights violations. Of these, 19.5 millions are refugees (an increase from 16.7 million in 2013), 38.2 million persons are forcibly displaced in their own countries (an increase from 33.3 million in 2013), while 1.8 million are asylum seekers (as compared to 1.2 million in 2013). Children stand for more than half of the number of refugees worldwide.
The UNHCR report on Global Trends 2014 launched in June 2015
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres put the new figures in their historical context. "In the 1990s, the Balkan wars created hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. Many of them found refuge in industrialized countries in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Today, the surge in armed conflicts around the world presents us with similar challenges, in particular the dramatic situation in Syria. Our response has to be just as generous now as it was then – providing access to asylum, resettlement opportunities and other forms of protection for the people fleeing these terrible conflicts."
The UNHCR report on "Global Trends on Forced Displacement in 2014" is prepared on the basis of data received from 44 countries in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and was launched in June 2015.
Sources:
http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/ro/stiri/2015/razboaiele-din-siria-i-irak-record-de-cereri-azil-in-22-ani.html
http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/ro/stiri/2015/raport-unhcrtendine-globale-privind-stramutarea-forata-in-2014.html
Syrians, Iraqi and Afghani people in the top of asylum seekers
The largest group requesting asylum last year were Syrians, namely 150,000 applications. They were followed by Iraqi with 68,700 applications, almost double than in 2013, and by Afghani with about 60,000 applications. The industrialised country which received the highest number of asylum seekers in 2014 was Germany, with over 173,000 applications, with Syrians making up for one quarter of all asylum seekers. The United States received 121,200 asylum applications, mostly from Mexico and Central American countries. Turkey, which at the end of 2014 was hosting more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees, received 87,800 new asylum applications in 2014, mostly from Iraqi citizens. According to an IOM press release, the Russian Federation, which is not included in this report for methodological reasons, received more than 264,400 asylum applications from Ukrainian citizens in 2014. At the same time the number of Ukrainians who sought asylum in the 44 countries covered by the report raised from 1,400 in 2013 to 15,700 in 2014.
The countries with the highest number of applications: Germany, the United States, Turkey
The distribution of asylum applications among the 44 countries covered by the report was of course not uniform. The first five countries (Germany, the United States, Turkey, Sweden and Italy) stood for 60% of the total number of new asylum applications. As regards the ratio to the country's population, Sweden has the largest number of asylum seekers (24.4 asylum seekers per 1000 inhabitants on average, during the last five years), followed by Malta, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Montenegro. At the other end, Australia recorded a 24% drop in the number of asylum seekers, from 11,700 in 2013 to less than 9,000 in 2014.
The report shows a worrisome increase in the number of persons forcibly displaced worldwide, from 51.2 million people in 2013 to 59.5 million people at the end of 2014. This is the highest increase recorded in one year (four times higher than in 2010), as a result of persecutions, conflicts, generalized violence and human rights violations. Of these, 19.5 millions are refugees (an increase from 16.7 million in 2013), 38.2 million persons are forcibly displaced in their own countries (an increase from 33.3 million in 2013), while 1.8 million are asylum seekers (as compared to 1.2 million in 2013). Children stand for more than half of the number of refugees worldwide.
The UNHCR report on Global Trends 2014 launched in June 2015
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres put the new figures in their historical context. "In the 1990s, the Balkan wars created hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. Many of them found refuge in industrialized countries in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Today, the surge in armed conflicts around the world presents us with similar challenges, in particular the dramatic situation in Syria. Our response has to be just as generous now as it was then – providing access to asylum, resettlement opportunities and other forms of protection for the people fleeing these terrible conflicts."
The UNHCR report on "Global Trends on Forced Displacement in 2014" is prepared on the basis of data received from 44 countries in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and was launched in June 2015.
Sources:
http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/ro/stiri/2015/razboaiele-din-siria-i-irak-record-de-cereri-azil-in-22-ani.html
http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/ro/stiri/2015/raport-unhcrtendine-globale-privind-stramutarea-forata-in-2014.html
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