STAR | About Refugees | Basic Facts & Figures

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Basic Facts & Figures

The welcoming and protection of refugees is not a numbers game. Every refugee’s personal experience is unique.

Nevertheless, because there are a lot of wrong numbers out there it’s good to know some of the right ones.

There are around 15 and a half million refugees in the world

This figure does not include the estimated 27.5 million ‘internally displaced people’, those who have left their home but have not crossed an international border (UNHCR, Global Trends 2010).

There were an estimated 238, 100 refugees in the UK in 2010 – about 0.4% of the population

(UNHCR, Global Trends 2010)

80% of refugees are hosted by developing countries (see graphic below)
Refugees only account for a tiny percentage of overall immigration.
In 2007, the number of asylum applicants was 28,000, around 2% of total net immigration to the UK
The number of applications for asylum, excluding dependants, was 22,100 in 2010, 28% lower than in 2009 (UNHCR, Aslyum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2010)

Most refugees were living in Pakistan, Iran and Syria in 2010

Countries including Kenya, Chad, China, USA and UK also host high refugee populations
Most refugees flee to their neighbouring country, only a small proportion travel to developed countries in Europe and elsewhere (UNHCR, Global Trends 2010).

Most asylum seekers in the UK came from Iran, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in 2010

Many other asylum claims in recent years have been people from Afghanistan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Sri Lanka and Nigeria (see graphic below)
These countries have either recently experienced conflict or have well-documented human rights abuses (UNHCR, 2009).

A single adult asylum seeker receives £36.62 a week

Asylum seekers cannot claim mainstream benefits.
A single unemployed UK citizen of the same age would receive £67.50, plus other benefits they may be able to receive.
Asylum seekers do not qualify for council housing tenancy or housing benefit.
(Home Office, Asylum Support).
Asylum seekers do not have permission to work in the UK.

It costs up to £17,000 to deport a single adult after their asylum claim has been refused (NAO, 2009)

In 2009, 19,005 asylum seekers and their dependents were forcibly removed from the UK (BID).
These individuals were often fearful of what would happen to them on return to their country of origin (BID).

Asylum seekers are often kept in detention, despite the fact that claiming asylum is not a crime.

There are 11 immigration removal centres across the UK (Immigration Removal Centres).
Every year around 2,000 children in the UK are detained for the purposes of immigration control. This can often cause detrimental physical and psychological problems (BID).

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c4b8.html
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/asylum/
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications.aspx
http://www.biduk.org/index.htm
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/organisation/immigrationremovalcentres/
http://www.unhcr.org/4dfa11499.html
http://www.unhcr.org/4d8c5b109.html