Author
Overview of statistical practice
Statistics in Spain are collected by the Office on Asylum and Refuge (OAR), and published on an annual basis by the Ministry of Interior. While this report provides some statistical information on the year 2020, most data was not made publicly available by the time of writing of this report.
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: 2021
| Applications in 2021 | Pending at end 2021* | Refugee status | Subsidiary protection | Humanitarian protection | Rejection | Refugee rate | Sub. Prot. rate | Hum. Prot. rate | Rejection rate | ||
| Total | 65,295[1] | 72,271 | 5,355 | 2,025 | 13,030 | 50,580 | 7.5% | 2.9% | 18.3% | 71.2% | |
| Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers | |||||||||||
| Venezuela | 15,975 | – | 10 | 0 | 12,860 | 2,830 | 0.1% | 0% | 81.9% | 18% | |
| Colombia | 11,555 | – | 1,170 | 0 | 55 | 18,760 | 5.6% | 0% | 0.3% | 93.9% | |
| Morocco | 6,535 | – | 180 | 0 | 0 | 1,900 | 8.6% | 0% | 0% | 91.4% | |
| Mali | 4,640 | – | 10 | 1,115 | 0 | 230 | 0.7% | 82.3% | 0% | 17% | |
| Senegal | 3,195 | – | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1,415 | 0.7% | 0% | 0% | 98.9% | |
Source: Eurostat. Note that “rejection” covers inadmissibility decisions in Eurostat data. Rates are rounded based on calculations made by the author of this report.
*Data on pending applications: Ministerio del Interior, Subsecretaría del Interior – Dirección General de Política Interior, ‘Avance de solicitudes y propuestas de resolución de protección internacional. Datos provisionales acumulados entre el 1 de enero y el 31 de diciembre de 2021’, January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3ue81Hu.
The Spanish Ministry of Interior also provided limited statistical information at the beginning of 2022.[2] According to the latter, a total of 65,404 persons applied for international protection in Spain in 2021. The top 5 countries of origin were Venezuela (15,995), Colombia (11,567), Morocco (6,536), Mali (4,647) and Senegal (3,198). As regards decision making at first instance, a total of 49,537 applications were rejected, while the refugee status was granted to 5,354 persons, subsidiary protection to 2,017 persons and 12,983 were granted protection for humanitarian reasons.
The top 5 countries of persons granted any form of international protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection in 2021 were Colombia (1,169), Mali (1,120), Afghanistan (742), Syria (718), and Ukraine (568).
The top 5 countries of persons granted protection for humanitarian reasons in 2021 were Venezuela (12,817), Colombia (53), Ukraine (25), Peru (23), and Honduras (8).
The top 5 cuntries of applications rejected in 2021 were Colombia (18,614), Peru (4,326), Honduras (4,125), Venezuela (2,808), and El Salvador (2,329).
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2021
| Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of applicants | 65,404 | |
| Men, incl. children | – | 64.07% |
| Women, incl. children | – | 35.93% |
| Adults (women and men) | 55,780 | |
| Children | 9,624 | |
| Unaccompanied children |
A detailed breakdown was not made available by the authorities. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Interior indicated that out of the total number of applicants, 64.07% were men and 35.93% were women. Moreover, out of the total number of applicants, 9,624 were children.[3]
Comparison between first instance and appeal decision rates: 2021
National authorities did not provide detailed statistics on first instance and second instance decisions at the time of writing of this report.
[1] 62,050 applications were presented by first-time applicants, while 3,245 concerned subsequent applicants.
[2] Ministerio del Interior, Subsecretaría del Interior – Dirección General de Política Interior, ‘Avance de solicitudes y propuestas de resolución de protección internacional. Datos provisionales acumulados entre el 1 de enero y el 31 de diciembre de 2021’, January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3ue81Hu.
[3] Ministerio del Interior, Subsecretaría del Interior – Dirección General de Política Interior, ‘Avance de solicitudes y propuestas de resolución de protección internacional. Datos provisionales acumulados entre el 1 de enero y el 31 de diciembre de 2021’, January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3ue81Hu.