Eurostat: Asylum decisions in the 27 EU Member States granted protection to 84 100 asylum seekers in 2011

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published on 19/06/2012 a press release announcing the publication of statistics on results of asylum decisions in the 27 European Union (EU27) member states. These statistics were published on the occasion of the World Refugee Day on 20 June 2012.

According to the press release, in 2011, 365 600 decisions on asylum applications were made in the EU27, of which 237 400 were first instance decisions and 128 200 final decisions on appeal. Decisions made at the first instance resulted in 59 500 persons being granted protection status, while a further 24 600 received protection status on appeal. In total, of the 84 100 persons who were granted protection status in 2011, 42 700 persons were granted refugee status, 29 400 subsidiary protection and 12 000 authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons. In addition, the EU27 Member States received 4 100 resettled refugees.

The rate of recognition of asylum applicants, i.e. the share of positive decisions in the total number of decisions, was 25% for first instance decisions, split between refugee and subsidiary protection status (21%) and humanitarian status (4%). For final decisions on appeal the recognition rate was 19%, again split between refugee and subsidiary protection status (17%) and humanitarian status (2%). It should be noted that, while both refugee and subsidiary protection status are defined by EU law, humanitarian status is granted on the basis of national legislation relating to international protection.

More than three quarters of grants of protection status in the EU27 were made in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy. In 2011, the highest number of persons granted protection status was registered in the United Kingdom (14 400), followed by Germany (13 000), France (10 700), Sweden (10 600), the Netherlands (8 400) and Italy (7 500). These Member States accounted for more than three quarters of all those granted protection status in the EU27. Afghans, Iraqis and Somalis were the largest groups granted protection status in the EU27. Afghans were the single largest group of persons granted protection status in the EU27. Of the 13 300 Afghans granted protection status in the EU27, 3 100 were recorded in Germany, 2 700 in Sweden, 1 800 in Austria, 1 400 in the Netherlands and 1 000 in the United Kingdom. Of the 9 000 Iraqis granted protection, 3 300 were registered in Germany, 1 400 in the Netherlands and 1 200 in Belgium, and of the 8 900 Somalis, 2 600 were in Sweden and 2 400 in the Netherlands.

For the full text of the press release and statistics please visit: Eurostat: Asylum decisions in the EU27 EU Member States granted protection to 84 100 asylum seekers in 2011

This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the weekly ELENA legal update supported by the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Funding Programme and distributed by email. The purpose of these updates is to inform asylum lawyers and legal organizations supporting asylum seekers and refugees of recent developments in the field of asylum law. Please note that the information provided is taken from publicly available information on the internet. Every reasonable effort is made to make the content accurate and up to date at the time each item is published but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE, the IRC or its partners.