Author
Overview of statistical practice
Limited asylum statistics for 2021 can be found on the website of the Ministry of Interior.[1] However, they did not provide a detailed breakdown on all grounds by country of origin in 2021. According to the Ministry of Interior, there were a total of 3,039 applicants for international protection in 2021, the majority of which came from Afghanistan (1,849), Turkey (246), Iraq (225) Iran (190), Pakistan (106), followed by Syria (84), Bangladesh (69), Cuba (56), Morocco (30) and stateless persons (27).
Detailed statistics on decision-making at first instance are not available, but the Ministry of the Interior indicated that 68 persons were granted a refugee status and none of them a subsidiary protection. The number of negative decisions or pending cases were not made available by national authorities.
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: 2021
The following table is based on Eurostat statistics and must be read with caution as some figures seem to differ from those provided above by the Ministry of Interior, and because rejection includes inadmissibility decisions:
| Applicants in 2021 | Pending at end 2021 | Refugee status | Subsidiary protection | Rejection | Refugee rate | Sub. Prot. rate | Rejection rate | |
| Total | 2,930 | N/A | 70 | 0 | 365 | 16% | 0% | 84% |
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Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers
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| Afghanistan | 1,790 | N/A | 40 | 0 | 95 | 29.6% | 0% | 70.4% |
| Turkey | 255 | N/A | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Iraq | 220 | N/A | 5 | 0 | 35 | 12.5% | 0% | 87.5% |
| Iran | 165 | N/A | 5 | 0 | 40 | 11% | 0% | 89% |
| Pakistan | 95 | N/A | 5 | 0 | 20 | 20% | 0% | 80% |
| Syria | 80 | N/A | 10 | 0 | 20 | 33.3% | 0% | 66.7% |
Source: Eurostat, available at: https://bit.ly/3M2EXZb. Rejection includes inadmissibility decisions.
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2021
| Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of applicants | 3,039 | 100% |
| Men (incl. children) | 1,833 | 60.3% |
| Women (incl. children) | 1,206 | 39.7% |
| Children | 986 | 32.445 |
| Unaccompanied children | 195 | 6.4% |
Source: Ministry of Interior, Statistics 2021, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3tsV4HN. The percentages have been calculated (and rounded) by the author of this report based on the statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior. The numbers on children were provided by the Ombudsperson for Children, Report on the work of the Ombudsman for Children in 2021, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/37dyZWm.
Comparison between first instance and appeal decision rates: 2021
| First instance | Appeal | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of decisions | N/A | – | 58 | – |
| Positive decisions | 68 | – | 2 | – |
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68 | – | N/A | – |
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0 | – | N/A | – |
| Negative decisions | N/A | – | 46 | – |
Source: Ministry of Interior, Statistics 2021, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3tsV4HN. As for the law suits, the information was provided by the following Courts: Administrative Court in Zagreb, 31 January 2022; Administrative Court in Rijeka, 20 January 2022; Administrative Court in Osijek, 14 January 2022; Administrative Court in Split, 17 January 2022.
[1] Ministry of Interior, Statistics 2021, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/35ugJHr.