Author
Overview of statistical practice
The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) publishes detailed statistics on the number of asylum applications and types of decisions on a monthly and a yearly basis. SEM statistics include figures on the application of the Dublin Regulation.[1]
Based on the yearly statistics provided by the SEM, the figures below, especially the asylum and temporary admission rates, are the result of a calculation methodology that differs from that used by the Swiss authorities. The Swiss Refugee Council calculates recognition rates based only on the number of decisions on the merits rendered by the SEM at first instance, without considering the inadmissibility decisions or the “radiations” cases for the total of decisions, insofar as these do not include an examination on the merits of these asylum claims.[2] The State Secretariat for Migration has not yet been able to collect or provide the authors of the report with some figures for 2023. As such, for some specific areas, the report is based on 2022 figures.
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: figures for 2023
| Applicants in 2023[3] | Pending at
end of 2023[4] |
Total decisions in 2023[5] | Asylum status[6] | Temporary admission[7] | |
| Total | 30,223 | 15,567 | 26,667 | 5,991 | 6,690 |
| Afghanistan | 7,934 | 2,682 | 7,794 | 1,369 | 4,706 |
| Turkey | 6,822 | 5,626 | 4,722 | 2,057 | 176 |
| Eritrea | 2,109 | 421 | 1,959 | 1,168 | 395 |
| Algeria | 1,810 | 225 | 1,914 | 9 | 5 |
| Morocco | 1,606 | 156 | 1,618 | 4 | 6 |
| Syria | 1,417 | 577 | 1,326 | 581 | 485 |
| Somalia | 637 | 361 | 485 | 85 | 182 |
| Georgia | 589 | 255 | 639 | 0 | 22 |
| Tunisia | 572 | 136 | 543 | 5 | 8 |
| Iran | 565 | 622 | 481 | 84 | 81 |
Applications and granting of protection status at first instance: rates for 2023
| Overall rejection rate | In merit rejection rate | Overall protection rate | In merit protection rate | Asylum status | Temporary admission rate | |
| Total | 39.9% | 21.6% | 47.6% | 78.4% | 39.3% | 39.3% |
|
Breakdown by countries of origin of the total numbers |
||||||
| Afghanistan | 19.7% | 0.7 | 77.9% | 99.3% | 24.3% | 75% |
| Türkiye | 46.7% | 34.3% | 47.3% | 65.7% | 60.9% | 4.9% |
| Eritrea | 17.2% | 11.8% | 79.8% | 88.2% | 66.3% | 21.9% |
| Algeria | 49.5% | 94% | 0.3% | 5.9% | 3.8% | 2.1% |
| Morocco | 63.2% | 95.5% | 0.6% | 6.5% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
| Syria | 15% | 5.4% | 80.4% | 94.6% | 52.2% | 42.5 |
| Somalia | 35.7% | 5% | 55% | 95% | 32.6% | 62.5% |
| Georgia | 70.7% | 97% | 3.4% | 3% | 0% | 3% |
| Tunisia | 64% | 84.7% | 2.4% | 15.3% | 5.9% | 9.4% |
| Iran | 56.8% | 46.6% | 34.3% | 53.4% | 32% | 21.4% |
Gender/age breakdown of the total number of applicants: 2023
| Adults | Children | ||
| Accompanied | Unaccompanied | ||
| Number | 16,689 | 10,263 | 3,271 |
| Percentage | 55.2% | 34% | 10.8% |
| Men | Women | |
| Number | 21,433 | 8,790 |
| Percentage | 70.9% | 29.1% |
Source: SEM, asylum statistics (7-20), available at: https://bit.ly/418U0Yk and statistics on unaccompanied minors, available at https://bit.ly/3VDzMF7 and data provided by the SEM.
Comparison between first instance and appeal decision rates: 2023
| First instance | Appeal | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| Total number of decisions | 26,667 | 100% | N/A | N/A |
| Positive decisions | 12,681 | 47.6% | ||
|
5,991 | 22.5% | ||
|
6,690 | 25% | ||
|
N/A | N/A | ||
| Negative decisions | 3,315 (10,626 incl. non-entry decisions) | 12.4% (39.8% incl. non-entry decisions) | ||
[1] SEM, asylum statistics, available at: https://bit.ly/413SYgk.
[2] This calculation method is also used by the Organisation ‘Vivre Ensemble’, available at: https://bit.ly/3LSeGws.
[3] SEM, asylum statistics (7-20), available at: https://bit.ly/413SYgk.
[4] SEM, asylum statistics (6-10), available at: https://bit.ly/413SYgk.
[5] SEM, asylum statistics (7-20), available at: https://bit.ly/413SYgk.
[6] SEM, asylum statistics (7-20), available at: https://bit.ly/413SYgk.
[7] SEM, asylum statistics (7-20), available at: https://bit.ly/413SYgk.