75 thousand asylum seekers granted protection status in the EU in 2008 - Issue number 92/2009 - Products Statistics in Focus

Asylum decisions in 2008

About 75 thousand asylum seekers were granted protection status in the EU Member States in 2008. This represents more than one-third of the world-wide decisions granting protection, and makes the EU the region with the highest number of asylum seekers who received a protection status. The majority of the asylum seekers that lodged an asylum claim in the EU see however their claim rejected. Over 70 percent of all claims are rejected at the first instance of the asylum procedure. More than 75 percent of those who in response to this rejection lodge an appeal are eventually rejected at the final instance. Out of those who were granted protection last year more than 40 thousand persons were granted refugee status and 25.5 thousand persons received a subsidiary protection status. 11 thousand obtained an authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons as provided under national legislation. With 16.6 thousand persons, Iraqis were by far the largest group of beneficiaries of protection status in the EU last year.