Number of asylum applications dropped over 50% in Belgium in 2016 (CGRS asylum statistics)
In 2016, there was a sharp drop in the number of asylum applications in Belgium, and the number of decisions taken by the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons reached an all-time high.
The Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) published some key figures regarding asylum in Belgium in 2016:
- There were 18,710 asylum applications in 2016 (44,760 in 2015), which represents a drop of more than 50 % compared to 2015. A similar decrease was seen in most other EU member states. This is mainly due to the closing of the route from Turkey to Greece.
- Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq are still the top 3 countries of origin for asylum claims in Belgium, followed by Guinea and Somalia.
- The CGRS took 22,207 decisions in 2016 (30 % more than in 2015), which is an all-time record for the CGRS.
- In 57.7% of the final decisions, protection was granted. This protection rate is higher than the rate of 52.7 % in 2015.This increase is mainly due to the great number of asylum dossier from Syrians that were examined in 2016 by the CGRS.
For further information, please visit the CGRS' website.