More than one quarter of EU27 asylum decisions at the first instance resulted in protection status
In 2009, 317 500 decisions on asylum applications were made in the EU27, of which 228 600 were first instance decisions and 88 900 final decisions on appeal. Decisions made at the first instance resulted in 61 700 persons being granted protection status, while a further 17 100 received protection status on appeal. The rate of recognition of asylum applicants, i.e. the share of positive decisions in the total number of decisions, was 27% for first instance decisions and 19% for final decisions on appeal.
Of the 78 800 persons who were granted protection status, 39 300 persons were granted refugee status, 29 900 subsidiary protection and 9 600 authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons. 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 made in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands
In 2009, the highest number of persons granted protection status was registered in the United Kingdom (12 500), followed by Germany (12 100), France (10 400), Sweden (9 100), Italy (8 600) and the Netherlands (8 100). These Member States accounted for more than three quarters of all those granted protection status in the EU27.
The rate of recognition varies considerably among Member States, which is partly due to the differing citizenships of applicants in each Member State. The highest rates of recognition in the first instance were recorded in Malta (66%), Slovakia (56%), Portugal (51%), the Netherlands and Denmark (both 48%), and the lowest in Greece (1%), Ireland (4%), Spain (8%), France (14%) and Slovenia (15%).
Somalis were the single largest group of persons granted protection status in the EU27. Of the 13 400 Somalis granted protection status in the EU27, 4 000 were recorded in Sweden, 3 600 in the Netherlands, 2 400 in Italy and 1 400 in Malta. Of the 13 100 Iraqis granted protection, 6 200 were registered in Germany, 1 900 in the Netherlands and 1 500 in Sweden, and of the 7 100 Afghans, 1 800 were in the United Kingdom and 1 200 each in Germany and Austria.
More than 260 000 asylum applicants in 2009 and nearly one quarter were minors
On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, Eurostat also issues a report on the characteristics of asylum seekers in the EU27 in 2009. It should be noted that processing of applications takes time, and therefore there is no direct correspondence between applications made and decisions taken during the same year. In 2009, around 261 000 asylum applicants were registered in the EU27. Amongst other characteristics such as the origin and gender of these applicants, the report highlights that minors accounted for 60 500 of the applicants, of which 12 200 were unaccompanied.
