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Statistical Data On Iranian Refugees ¹ and asylum seekers²

(last updated July 2009)

At the end of 2008, based on data received or estimated by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of Iranian refugees was 69,061 of which 13,851 were assisted by the UNHCR. According to the same source at the end of this year there were 42 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including 10.5 million refugees who fall under UNHCR’s mandate, some 4.7 million Palestinian refugees under the responsibility of the U. N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and 26 million people displaced within their country as a result of armed conflict.

During 2008, 13,329 first instance or appeal applications for asylum or refugee status were submitted by Iranians to Governments or UNHCR offices. During the same year, first instance or appeal applications submitted by all nationalities in 154 countries amounted to 839,000.

Applications filed by Iranians in Industrialized Countries (1982-2008)

Total: 439,395

In 2008, the three destination countries that received the largest numbers of new applications from Iranians were the United Kingdom (2,585), Turkey (2,116), and Germany (815).. Seven countries receiving most of the new asylum applications from all nationalities were South Africa (207,000), United States (49,600), France (35,400), Sudan (35,000), Canada (34,800), United Kingdom (30,500), and Italy (30,300).

Of 11,720 decisions taken on Iranian asylum applications in 2008, including cases from previous years, some 3,345 resulted in refugee status, 752 decisions resulted in humanitarian status, 5,147 cases were rejected, and 2,476 cases were closed on other grounds. When cases closed on other non-substantive grounds are excluded, the global Convention recognition percentage for Iranian asylum applicants during 2008 amounted to 36.2%, whereas the total recognition percentage, including grants of humanitarian status, amounted to 44.3%.

In total, the global refugee recognition rate for all nationalities in 2008 amounted to 29%. When asylum-seekers allowed to remain on humanitarian grounds are included, the recognition rate was 41%.

Total recognition percentages (1999-2008) (refugee status/refugee & humanitarian status)

Some examples of first instance total recognition rates (refugee & humanitarian) for Iranian applications in 2008 were: Austria (73%), Canada (92%),France (46%), Germany (29%), Netherlands (44%), Sweden (24%), Turkey-UNHCR (85%), UK (27%), and USA-INS (74%).

First instance recognition percentages (refugee & humanitarian) in 10 main destination countries of new asylum seekers from Iran (1999-2008)

During 2008, a total of 88,800 refugees were admitted by 16 resettlement countries, including the United States of America (60,200), Australia (11,000), Canada (10,800), Sweden (2,200), and Finland (750). Some 67,000 who were resettled with UNHCR’s assistance were mostly from Myanmar (23,200), Iraq (17,800), Bhutan (8,100), and Somalia (3,500).

In 2008, 1,285 Iranians were resettled from Turkey (1,190) and Iraq (95) in various countries with UNHCR’s assistance. In addition to Iranians referred to the United States by the UNHCR in Turkey, the United States also resettled Iranian religious minorities as persons of special concern who applied directly to the U.S. program for refugee processing in Austria. 5,481 Iranians were admitted to the U.S. as refugees in FY 2008.

UNHCR assisted resettlement of Iranian refugees (1999-2008)

Iranians resettled in the United States (FY 1983-2008)

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