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UNHCR report "Asylum Trends 2013"
Carmen Munteanu - Communications Coordinator
16 April 2014
The number of asylum applications for industrialized countries grew over the last years, as shown by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Report "Asylum Trends 2013" launched at the end of March this year.
612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific last year – the highest total for the period 2001-2013. The report, which considers the asylum claims in 44 industrialized countries, indicates that this raise was driven primarily by the crisis in Syria.
Syria and the Russian Federation, main countries of origin of asylum seekers
In a top of main countries of origin of asylum seekers worldwide, Afghanistan, which in the previous two years was the world's principal country of origin, ranked third now, behind Syria and the Russian Federation. Among the top 10 countries of origin, six are experiencing violence or conflict: Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan. "There is clear evidence in these numbers of how the Syria crisis in particular is affecting countries and regions of the world far removed from the Middle East", said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a press release.
Germany, France and Sweden in the top of host countries
For 2013, the biggest increase in asylum applicants by region was in the 38 countries of Europe which together received 484,600 claims – an increase of a third from 2012. Germany was the largest single recipient with 109,600 new asylum claims. The United States (88,400) has long been a leading country of asylum in industrialized countries, and in 2013 was second only to Germany in the number of applications received. France (60,100) and Sweden (54,300) were the next major receivers of asylum seekers. Turkey, currently the biggest refugee-hosting country in Europe due to the Syria crisis (a registered Syrian refugee population of 640,889 as of March 18) also saw 44,800 asylum claims lodged last year, mainly from nationals of Iraq and Afghanistan. Italy received 27,800 claims and Greece 8,200. Europe was also the main destination for refugees in 2012, when Germany was ranking first in the top with the highest number of new applications received - 64,500, closely followed by France with 54,900 applications and Sweden with 43,900 applications.
In Romania the number of asylum applications dropped
The seven countries within the UNHCR Regional Representative for Central Europe saw an overall raise of 157% in the number of applications as compared to 2012. The report shows that 42,000 asylum applications were filed in 2013, as compared to 16,390 in 2012. The number of applications was not evenly distributed among the countries in the region. While Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland registered a significant raise of the number of asylum applications, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia saw a drop in the number of applications. In Romania there were 1499 asylum applicants in 2013 (mostly originating from Syria), which stand for only 60% of the total applications filed in 2012 (2511). Contrary to the UNHCR report on asylum trends in 2012, which indicated a raising trend in the number of asylum applications over the last years, now Romania is on a downward trend. 860 applications were filed in 2010, in 2011 their number was twice higher as compared to the previous year (1,720 applications), in 2012 the number reached 2,511 asylum applications, whereas in 2013 it was 1,499.
Refugee acknowledgement levels vary according to the country of origin
Asylum seekers who arrive in industrialised countries are subject to individual assessments to determine whether they can benefit from the statute of refugee. Therefore their number is always higher than the number of those acknowledged as refugees. In the case of the 44 industrialised countries mentioned in the recent report, the recognition rates vary a lot and tend to be higher among those fleeing from a conflict. The acknowledgement rates for persons from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, for instance, vary between 62 and 95 percent. The recognition rates for citizens of the Russian Federation and Serbia (including Kosovo) are significantly lower, 28%, namely 5%.
The next annual UNHCR report "Global Trends Report" is to be published in June this year.
Sources: UNHCR
612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific last year – the highest total for the period 2001-2013. The report, which considers the asylum claims in 44 industrialized countries, indicates that this raise was driven primarily by the crisis in Syria.
Syria and the Russian Federation, main countries of origin of asylum seekers
In a top of main countries of origin of asylum seekers worldwide, Afghanistan, which in the previous two years was the world's principal country of origin, ranked third now, behind Syria and the Russian Federation. Among the top 10 countries of origin, six are experiencing violence or conflict: Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan. "There is clear evidence in these numbers of how the Syria crisis in particular is affecting countries and regions of the world far removed from the Middle East", said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a press release.
Germany, France and Sweden in the top of host countries
For 2013, the biggest increase in asylum applicants by region was in the 38 countries of Europe which together received 484,600 claims – an increase of a third from 2012. Germany was the largest single recipient with 109,600 new asylum claims. The United States (88,400) has long been a leading country of asylum in industrialized countries, and in 2013 was second only to Germany in the number of applications received. France (60,100) and Sweden (54,300) were the next major receivers of asylum seekers. Turkey, currently the biggest refugee-hosting country in Europe due to the Syria crisis (a registered Syrian refugee population of 640,889 as of March 18) also saw 44,800 asylum claims lodged last year, mainly from nationals of Iraq and Afghanistan. Italy received 27,800 claims and Greece 8,200. Europe was also the main destination for refugees in 2012, when Germany was ranking first in the top with the highest number of new applications received - 64,500, closely followed by France with 54,900 applications and Sweden with 43,900 applications.
In Romania the number of asylum applications dropped
The seven countries within the UNHCR Regional Representative for Central Europe saw an overall raise of 157% in the number of applications as compared to 2012. The report shows that 42,000 asylum applications were filed in 2013, as compared to 16,390 in 2012. The number of applications was not evenly distributed among the countries in the region. While Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland registered a significant raise of the number of asylum applications, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia saw a drop in the number of applications. In Romania there were 1499 asylum applicants in 2013 (mostly originating from Syria), which stand for only 60% of the total applications filed in 2012 (2511). Contrary to the UNHCR report on asylum trends in 2012, which indicated a raising trend in the number of asylum applications over the last years, now Romania is on a downward trend. 860 applications were filed in 2010, in 2011 their number was twice higher as compared to the previous year (1,720 applications), in 2012 the number reached 2,511 asylum applications, whereas in 2013 it was 1,499.
Refugee acknowledgement levels vary according to the country of origin
Asylum seekers who arrive in industrialised countries are subject to individual assessments to determine whether they can benefit from the statute of refugee. Therefore their number is always higher than the number of those acknowledged as refugees. In the case of the 44 industrialised countries mentioned in the recent report, the recognition rates vary a lot and tend to be higher among those fleeing from a conflict. The acknowledgement rates for persons from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, for instance, vary between 62 and 95 percent. The recognition rates for citizens of the Russian Federation and Serbia (including Kosovo) are significantly lower, 28%, namely 5%.
The next annual UNHCR report "Global Trends Report" is to be published in June this year.
Sources: UNHCR
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