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 million refugees in the world

  • This figure does not include the estimated 26 million ‘internally displaced people’, those who have left their homes but not crossed an international border
    (UNHCR, 2008)

Less than 3% of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers live in the UK

  • 80% of refugees are hosted by developing countries (8.4million).
  • 299,700 refugees were in the UK in 2007 – about 0.5% of the population.
    (UNHCR, 2008)

25,930 people claimed asylum in the UK in 2008

(Home Office, 2008)

  • Asylum seekers only account for 3% of total net immigration to the UK. (UNHCR, 2006)

Most refugees were living in Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Germany and Jordan in 2008

  • Followed by Chad, Tanzania, Kenya, China and UK.
  • Most refugees flee to their neighbouring country, only a small proportion travel to developed countries in Europe and elsewhere.
    (UNHCR, 2008)

Most asylum seekers in the UK came from Zimbabwe, Iran, Eritrea, Pakistan and Iraq in 2008

  • Many other asylum claims in recent years have been from people from Afghanistan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.
  • These countries have either experienced conflict in recent years of have well-documented human rights abuses.
    (Home Office, 2008)

A single adult asylum seeker receives £35.13 a week

  • Asylum seekers cannot claim mainstream benefits.
  • A single unemployed UK citizen of the same age would receive £60.50 on income support, 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)

It costs an average £11,000 to deport someone from the UK, which means a total of £3.2 billion to clear the current backlog

(NAO,2005)

  • In 2007, 10,725 refused asylum seekers and their dependants were forcibly removed from the UK.
  • An assisted voluntary return costs about £1,100 per departure.

It is estimated there are between 155,000 and 283,500 destitute asylum seekers in the UK

(NAO,2005)

  • There are many difficulties with deporting people from the UK. Some countries may refuse to accept people, and there can be problems obtaining the necessary travel documents or arranging transport.
  • Sometimes the government is unable to send people back to a country because there is no travel route or because the country is still very unsafe.
  • Some refused asylum seekers refuse to go home because they believe that their application has been wrongly refused and that they will face persecution if they return. These people will not receive government support and have to rely on friends for food and shelter.

Over 2,000 asylum seekers are in detention, including children, despite the fact that claiming asylum is not a crime.

  • There are 11 immigration removal centres across the UK (Immigration Removal Centres).
  • During 2005, a total of 1,860 children were held in detention.
    (NCADC)