Number of asylum applications submitted in 30 industrialized countries, 1992-2001            
                            Annual Ranking
                          National average (Annual average
Asylum Year Yearly population1 per 1,000 per 1,000
country 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001   Average (mln.) inhabitants inhabitants)
Australia2 6,050 7,200 6,260 7,630 9,760 9,310 8,160 9,450 13,070 12,370   8,926 18.9 0.47 15
Austria3 16,240 4,750 5,080 5,920 6,990 6,720 13,810 20,100 18,280 30,140 12,803 8.2 1.56 9
Belgium 17,650 26,880 14,350 11,420 12,430 11,790 21,970 35,780 42,690 24,550 21,951 10.2 2.16 4
Bulgaria 150 - - 520 300 430 830 1,330 1,760 2,430 775 8.2 0.09 26
Canada4 37,730 21,190 22,060 25,950 25,740 24,330 25,400 30,880 37,860 42,750 29,389 31.1 0.94 12
Czech Rep. 820 2,190 1,190 1,410 2,160 2,100 4,080 7,290 8,770 18,090 4,810 10.2 0.47 16
Denmark5 13,880 14,350 6,650 5,100 5,890 5,090 9,370 12,330 12,200 12,400 9,726 5.3 1.84 6
Finland 3,630 2,020 840 850 710 970 1,270 3,110 3,170 1,650 1,822 5.2 0.35 19
France 28,870 27,560 25,960 20,420 17,410 21,420 22,380 30,910 38,750 47,290 28,097 59.1 0.48 14
Germany 438,190 322,610 127,210 127,940 116,370 104,350 98,640 95,110 78,760 88,290 159,747 82.2 1.94 5
Greece 1,850 810 1,300 1,310 1,640 4,380 2,950 1,530 3,090 5,500 2,436 10.6 0.23 22
Hungary6 860 730 440 590 670 1,110 7,370 11,500 7,800 9,550 4,062 10.0 0.40 18
Ireland 40 90 360 420 1,180 3,880 4,630 7,720 11,100 10,320 3,974 3.7 1.07 10
Italy 6,040 1,650 1,790 1,730 680 1,860 11,120 33,360 15,560 9,620 8,341 57.3 0.15 25
Japan 70 50 70 50 150 240 130 220 220 350 155 126.7 0.00 30
Luxembourg - - - 390 240 430 1,710 2,910 630 690 700 0.4 1.62 7
Netherlands 20,350 35,400 52,570 29,260 22,170 34,440 45,220 42,730 43,900 32,580 35,862 15.8 2.27 3
New Zealand 770 350 430 680 1,320 1,500 1,970 1,530 1,550 1,600 1,170 3.9 0.30 20
Norway 5,240 12,880 3,380 1,460 1,780 2,270 8,370 10,160 10,840 14,780 7,116 4.5 1.59 8
Poland 590 820 600 840 3,210 3,530 3,370 2,960 4,590 4,510 2,502 38.8 0.06 27
Portugal 690 2,090 770 450 270 300 370 270 200 190 560 9.9 0.06 28
Romania 800 - - - 590 1,430 1,240 1,670 1,370 2,430 953 22.3 0.04 29
Slovakia 90 100 140 360 420 650 510 1,320 1,560 8,150 1,330 5.4 0.25 21
Slovenia - - - - 40 70 500 870 9,240 1,510 1,223 2.0 0.62 13
South Africa - - - - 15,990 15,640 15,040 13,160 3,130 4,290 6,725 40.4 0.17 24
Spain 11,710 12,620 11,990 5,680 4,730 4,980 6,650 8,410 7,930 9,490 8,419 39.6 0.21 23
Sweden 84,020 37,580 18,640 9,050 5,750 9,660 12,840 11,230 16,300 23,520 22,859 8.9 2.57 2
Switzerland 17,960 24,740 16,130 17,020 18,000 23,980 41,300 46,070 17,610 20,630 24,344 7.4 3.30 1
United Kingdom 32,300 28,000 42,200 55,000 37,000 41,500 58,490 91,200 98,900 88,300 57,289 58.8 0.97 11
United States7 150,740 207,520 209,640 216,150 155,340 75,690 52,060 46,020 59,260 86,170 125,859 278.4 0.45 17
Total 897,330 794,180 570,050 547,600 468,930 414,050 481,750 581,130 570,090 614,140   593,925      
European Union8 675,460 516,410 309,710 274,940 233,460 251,770 311,420 396,700 391,460 384,530   374,586      
Central Europe9 3,310 3,840 2,370 3,720 7,390 9,320 17,900 26,940 35,090 46,670   15,655      
Notes                              
Figures generally refer to the number of persons who applied for asylum. The figures used here are generally first instance ("new") applications only.        
1 Source: UN Population Division, World Population Prospects: the 1998 Revision, New York, 2000.                
2 Since September 2001, persons who arrived offshore or are being processed on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea or Nauru have been excluded.        
3 The 2001 figure includes 5,622, mostly Afghan, asylum-seekers who applied for asylum abroad. Few of these applicants have been granted entry.        
4 Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.                        
5 Since 1998, the data concern "gross" figures, which include persons who have been returned to a safe third country or processed under the Dublin Convention.      
6 Including applications submitted under the UNHCR mandate (until 1998).                    
7 Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service. Data refer to US Fiscal Year (Oct.-Sep.). Figures estimated by UNHCR on the basis of 1.45 persons per application.    
8 Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom                              
9 Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia                              
Source: Governments, UNHCR. Compiled by UNHCR (Population Data Unit). See also: http://www.unhcr.ch (Statistics).