Author
Overview of statistical practice
The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons (CGRS) publishes monthly statistical reports, providing information on asylum applicants and first-instance decisions.[1] In addition, statistical information may be found in the Contact Group on International Protection reports, bringing together national authorities, UNHCR and civil society organisations[2] and in annual reports of national asylum authorities.[3]
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: figures for 2023[4]
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|
Applicants in 2023 (1) | Pending at end of 2023 (2) | Total decisions in 2023 (3) | Total in merit decisions (4) | Refugee status | Subsidiary protection | Humanitarian protection (5) | In merit rejection (6) | Total rejection (7) |
|
Total |
35,507 | 31,998 | 29,885 | 22,208 | 12,355 | 424 | 0 | 9,429 | 15,581 |
| Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers | |||||||||
| Syria | 4,152 | 3,215 | 2,810 | 2,682 | 57 | N/A | 71 | 411 | |
| Afghanistan | 3,718 | 7,502 | 6,267 | 2,593 | 2 | N/A | 3,672 | 4,787 | |
| Palestine | 3,249 | 1,528 | 1,059 | 934 | 14 | N/A | 111 | 433 | |
| Türkiye | 2,570 | 1,222 | 943 | 530 | 0 | N/A | 413 | 616 | |
| Eritrea | 2,201 | 1,980 | 1,797 | 1,758 | 0 | N/A | 39 | 201 | |
| Guinea | 1,355 | 1,018 | 741 | 246 | 2 | N/A | 493 | 720 | |
| DRC | 1,089 | 756 | 605 | 174 | 1 | N/A | 430 | 557 | |
| Cameroon | 1,214 | 604 | 428 | 173 | 12 | N/A | 243 | 377 | |
| Moldavia | 986 | 652 |
280 |
0 | 0 | N/A | 280 | 514 | |
| Russia | 931 | 304 | 78 | 65 | 0 | N/A | 13 |
63 |
|
Source: CGRS, statistics provided in March 2024.
(1) In 2023, 29,305 persons applied for international protection in Belgium for the first time. 284 additional persons filed a first application for international protection in the context of a resettlement procedure. 5,918 persons introduced a subsequent (2nd, 3rd, …) application.
(2) Decisions are pending in 26,525 files, concerning 31,998 persons.
(3) Decisions were taken in 25,355 files, concerning 29,885 persons.
(4) This number excludes: the number of persons for whom a further assessment at the border was decided or whose subsequent application was declared admissible (1,525), the number of persons whose application was declared inadmissible (4,090), the number of persons whose status was ended or revoked (81), the number of persons whose application was stopped (1,456)
(5) Humanitarian protection is not used as a form of international protection in Belgium.
(6) This includes both the number of decisions refusing refugee status and subsidiary protection status (8,635) the number of decisions for manifestly unfounded applications (772) and the number of exclusion decisions (22).
(7) This number includes in-merit rejections, decisions of inadmissibility and decisions by which a protection status was ended or revoked.
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: in merit rates for year 2023
According to the CGRS, the overall protection rate was 43.5%, with 42% of decisions granting refugee status and 1% of decisions granting subsidiary protection. That would make for a 56.5% overall rejection rate. These include for instance inadmissibility decisions as negative decisions, despite the fact that such persons may have (recognised) protection needs. Thus, the table below presents in merit rates for 2023 based on the detailed data presented in the previous table.
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In merit protection rate | Refugee rate | Subsidiary
protection rate |
Rejection rate |
| Total | 57.5% | 55.6% | 1.9% |
42.5% |
| Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers | ||||
|
Syria |
97.5% | 95.4% | 2.0% | 2.5% |
| Afghanistan | 41.4% | 41.4% | 0% | 58.6% |
| Palestine | 89.5% | 88.2% | 1.3% | 10.5% |
| Türkiye | 56.2% | 56.2% | 0% | 43.8% |
| Eritrea | 97.8% | 97.8% | 0% | 2.2% |
| Guinea | 33.5% | 33.2% | 0.3% | 66.5% |
| DRC | 28.9% | 28.8% | 0.2% | 71.1% |
| Cameroon | 43.2% | 40.4% | 2.8% | 56.8% |
| Moldavia | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Russia | 83.3% | 83.3% | 0% |
16.7% |
Source of data (percentages calculated by the author of the report): CGRS, ‘Statistiques Décembre : Bilan 2023’, 12 January 2024, available in French at: https://bit.ly/3xdASza.
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2023
| Men | Women | |
| Number | N/A | N/A |
| Percentage | 67.7% | 32.4% |
Source: CGRS, ‘Statistiques Décembre : Bilan 2023’, 12 January 2024, available in French at: https://bit.ly/3xdASza.
First instance and appeal decision rates: 2023[5]
| First instance (1) | Appeal | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of decisions | 20,002 | 100% | 6,141 | 100% |
| Positive decisions | 10,452 | 52% | 1,390 | 23% |
|
10,094 | 50% | 512 | 8% |
|
358 | 2% | 61 | 1% |
|
N/A | N/A | 817 | 13% |
| Negative decisions | 9,550 | 48% | 4,751 | 77% |
Source: Statistics CGRS (https://bit.ly/3xdASza) and annual report CALL (available in Dutch and French: https://tinyurl.com/ycy5ak53)
(1) Contrary to the first statistical table, for coherence with the presentation for appeals, these numbers concern decisions (which may include several people), rather than people.
[1] CGRS, Figures, available in English, Dutch and French at: https://bit.ly/3uk6M9L.
[2] Myria, Contact group international protection, available in French and Dutch at: https://bit.ly/3sE592s.
[3] Immigration Office, Activity reports, available in French and Dutch at: https://dofi.ibz.be/en/figures/activity-reports; Council of Alien Law Litigation, Year reports, available in French and Dutch at: https://www.rvv-cce.be/fr/cce/rapports-annuels.
[4] See CGRS, Asylum statistics – Survey 2023, available in English, Dutch and French at: https://www.cgrs.be/en/news/asylum-statistics-survey-2023. The statistics provided concern the number of persons, not files (that may include several persons).
[5] The rates are calculated based on in merit decisions only, excluding non-in merit rejections. Contrary to the first table of this report, the current table provides the number of files in which a decision was taken, not the number of persons. One file may include several persons.
[6] The CALL can cancel decisions and send the file back to the CGRS, if it believes that it does not have sufficient information to make an informed decision on an appeal. In this case, the CGRS is required to provide addition information and arguments after which it can give a new decision to the applicant.