Overview of statistical practice (1)
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) publishes monthly statistical reports (Aktuelle Zahlen zu Asyl) with information on applications and first instance decisions for main nationalities. More detailed information is provided in the monthly Asylgeschäftsstatistik and in other BAMF publications (Bundesamt in Zahlen).[1] Furthermore, detailed statistics can be found in responses to information requests which are regularly submitted by German members of parliament.
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: figures for 2024
| Applicants in 2024[2] | Pending as of 31 January 2025 (1) | Total decisions in 2024 (2) | Total in merit decisions | Total negative decisions (3) | In merit rejection | Refugee status | Subsidiary protection | Humanitarian protection (removal ban) | ||
| Total | 229,751 | 205,477 | 301,350 | 225,650 | 167,640 | 91,940 | 37,795 | 75,092 | 20,823 | |
| Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers | ||||||||||
| Syria | 76,765 | 51,703 | 93,808 | 77,871 | 15,964 | 27 | 7,072 | 70,431 | 341 | |
| Afghanistan | 34,149 | 36,578 | 42,999 | 34,454 | 10,866 | 2,321 | 14,427 | 775 | 16,931 | |
| Türkiye | 29,177 | 40,458 | 45,206 | 33,946 | 40,964 | 29,704 | 3,939 | 264 | 57 | |
| Iraq | 7,839 | 8,828 | 11,397 | 8,129 | 8,821 | 5,553 | 1,687 | 405 | 484 | |
| Somalia | 6,953 | 7,360 | 5,181 | 3,566 | 1,977 | 362 | 1,801 | 308 | 1,095 | |
| Iran | 5,230 | 7,340 | 7,914 | 6,129 | 5,665 | 3,880 | 2,062 | 130 | 57 | |
| Undetermined[3] | 4,737 | 4,910 | 3,902 | 2,492 | 1,874 | 464 | 1,520 | 428 | 80 | |
| Russia | 4,698 | 4,139 | 8,003 | 4,067 | 7,588 | 3,652 | 317 | 73 | 25 | |
| Colombia | 3,839 | Not available | 5,002 | 4,648 | 4,986 | 4,632 | 4 | 5 | 7 | |
| Eritrea | 3,132 | Not available | 3,801 | 3,413 | 914 | 526 | 2,278 | 519 | 90 | |
Source: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Das Bundesamt in Zahlen 2024 Asyl, available in German here.
Note 1: The overall number for pending applications as of 31 December 2024 is 212,656, however pending numbers for the ten countries listed were only available for 31 January 2025, so all data is presented for 31 January 2024 for coherence. See: Federal Government, Response to a Request by the Left, 20/15083, 3 March 2025, available in German here, 33.
Note 2: Statistics on decisions cover the decisions taken throughout the year, regardless of whether they concern applications lodged that year or in previous years.
Note 3: This includes both rejections based on the merit of the application and inadmissibility decisions or other formal reasons for not granting protection.
In addition to refugee status and subsidiary protection, applicants can be issued two types of national protection statuses: on the one hand, constitutional asylum, which gives rise to the same rights as the recognition of refugee status (the figures on refugee status thus include constitutional asylum),[4] and on the other hand, a ‘removal ban’ for compelling humanitarian reasons (explained briefly under Short overview of the asylum procedure). Note that this includes only removal bans issued by the BAMF, and not by immigration authorities. The BAMF only examines removal bans due to the situation in the country of origin, whereas immigration authorities can issue removal bans based on the situation of the applicant in Germany (e.g. medical reasons, family unity etc).
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: rates for 2024
| Overall rejection rate (2) | In merit rejection rate (1) | Overall protection rate (2) | In merit protection rate (1) | Refugee rate (1) | Subsidiary protection rate (1) | Humanitarian protection rate (1) | |
| Total | 30.51% | 40.74% | 44.37% | 59.3% | 16.75% | 33.3% | 9.2% |
| Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers | |||||||
| Syria | 0.028% | 0.035% | 82.9% | 99.97% | 9.08% | 90.4% | 0.4% |
| Afghanistan | 5.4% | 6.8% | 74.7% | 93.3% | 41.88% | 2.2% | 49.1% |
| Türkiye | 65.7% | 87.5% | 9.4% | 12.5% | 11.60% | 0.8% | 0.2% |
| Iraq | 48.7% | 68.3% | 22.6% | 31.70% | 20.75% | 5% | 6% |
| Somalia | 7.0% | 10.2% | 61.8% | 89.8% | 50.5% | 8.6% | 30.7% |
| Iran | 49.0% | 63.3% | 28.4% | 36.70% | 33.7% | 2.1% | 0.9% |
| Undetermined[5] | 11.9% | 18.6% | 52.0% | 81.4% | 61.1% | 17.2% | 3.2% |
| Russia | 45.6% | 89.8% | 5.2% | 10.2% | 7.8% | 1.8% | 0.60% |
| Colombia | 92.6% | 99.7% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.09% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Eritrea | 13.8% | 15.4% | 76.0% | 84.6% | 66.7% | 15.2% | 2.6% |
Source of the percentages: The rates were calculated by the author based on figures from the first statistical table.
Note 1: These rates are calculated based on in merit decisions only, excluding non in merit rejections.
Note 2: These rates are calculated based on total decisions. For calculation of these percentages, formal decisions are counted as neither protection nor rejection decisions, but as a separate category. Formal decisions represented 25.12% of total decisions in 2024.
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2024
| Adults | Children | ||
| All | Unaccompanied | ||
| Number | 145,475 | 84,350 | 13,344 |
| Percentage | 63.3% | 36.7 % | 15.8% |
| Men | Women | |
| Number | 229,751 | 21,194 |
| Percentage | 67% | 33% |
Source: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Asylzahlen Gesamtjahr und Dezember 2024, Press Release, 9 January 2025, available in German here; Federal Government, Response to a Request by the Left, 20/15083, 3 March 2025, available in German here, and 20/14923, 21 March 2025, available in German here, 32.
Note: The gender breakdown (Men/Women) applies to all applicants, not only adults.
First instance and appeal decision rates: 2024 (‘adjusted decision rates’, excluding formal decisions)
It should be noted that, during the same year, the first instance and appeal authorities handle different caseloads. Thus, the decisions below do not concern the same applicants.
| First instance | Appeal | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of decisions | 301,350 | N/A (100%) | 95,139 | N/A (100%) |
| Total number of in-merit decisions | 225,650 | 74.87% | 37,985 | 39.9% |
| Positive decisions (out of in merit) | 133,710 | 59.3% | 4,406 | 11.60% |
| ● Refugee status (incl. constitutional asylum) | 37,795 | 16.75% | 3,349 | 8.82% |
| ● Subsidiary protection | 75,092 | 33.28% | 1,055 | 2.78% |
| ● Humanitarian protection | 20,823 | 9.23% | 2 | 0.005% |
| Negative decisions (in merit, out of in merit) | 91,940 | 40.74% | 31,144 | 82.00% |
Source: Source of first instance decision see above, table with first instance decisions, for appeal numbers, see Federal Government, Response to a Request by the Left, 20/14923, 21 March 2025, available in German here, 37.
[1] BAMF, Asylum Figures, available in English here.
[2] This column includes only first-time applicants in the asylum procedure and not subsequent applications.
[3] According to the BAMF, the category ‘undetermined’ (ungeklärt) applies in cases in which the nationality cannot be determined and where statelessness has not (yet) been formally recognised by the respective authorities. This is usually assumed for persons who had their habitual residence in a country of origin where they are legally and factually inhibited from being granted the nationality of the respective country of origin and where statelessness has not (yet) been recognised by the respective authorities, such as Palestinian refugees having lived in Syria before arriving in Germany. According to the BAMF, their asylum applications are treated based on the situation in the country of residence. The category further applies in cases where the information on the country of origin indicated by the applicant is disproven or deemed not credible by the BAMF, and where no other country of origin can be established. Information provided by the BAMF on 28 May 2025.
[4] Constitutional asylum was granted in 1,964 cases in 2024 compared to 1,824 cases in 2023.
[5] The category ‘undetermined’ (ungeklärt) applies in most cases to persons who have lived in a country for a long time without having the nationality of this country, such as Palestinian refugees having lived in Syria before arriving in Germany. According to the BAMF, their asylum applications are treated with regard to the situation in the country of residence. The category further applies in cases where the information on the country of origin indicated by the applicant is disproven or deemed not credible by the BAMF, and where no other country of origin can be established. See Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Knapp 500 Asylbewerber mit unbekannter Herkunft, 23 May 2021, available in German at: http://bit.ly/40ARLNz.