Refugee and humanitarian progam statistics
Australia contributes to refugee protection by resettling refugees from overseas and providing protection and assistance to refugees who seek asylum in Australia. While these contributions are significant, Australia’s overall share of the global responsibility for refugee protection is relatively small. In 2010, Australia hosted just 0.21% of the world’s refugees and 0.45% of the world’s asylum seekers, and received just 1.04% of the world’s asylum application. Australia does have one of the largest resettlement programs in the world, but the actual numbers of people resettled are small in global terms. The vast majority of the world’s refugees (80%) are hosted by developing countries.
Australia’s role in refugee protection
| 2010 | Global total |
Australian total | Australia’s share | Australia’s rank | Per capita |
Per $b GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asylum applications | 1,058,318 | 10,955 | 1.04% | 25th | 35th | 51st |
| Asylum seekers recognised as refugees | 440,409 | 3,859 | 0.88% | 27th | 30th | 44th |
| Refugees recognised, registered or resettled | 539,170 | 12,375 | 2.30% | 10th | 17th | 17th |
Source: 2010 Global Trends, UNHCR. Includes people in refugee–like situations, available at here.
Refugee and humanitarian visa applications
| Year | Refugee visa applications |
Special Humanitarian visa applications |
Protection visa applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 12,090 | 69,592 | 3,291 |
| 2006–07 | 19,957 | 60,329 | 3,746 |
| 2007–08 | 12,880 | 34,451 | 4,009 |
| 2008–09 | 12,453 | 34,457 | 5,302 |
| 2009–10 | 12,552 | 34,570 | 8,150 |
Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Refugee resettlement , 2010
| Rank | Country | Refugees resettled |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 71,362 |
| 2 | Canada | 12,098 |
| 3 | Australia | 8,516 |
| 4 | Sweden | 1,786 |
| 5 | Norway | 1,097 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 715 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 631 |
| 8 | Finland | 541 |
| 9 | Denmark | 495 |
| 10 | Germany | 469 |
Source: 2010 Global Trends, UNHCR.
Refugee and humanitarian visa grants by Sub-class
| Visa sub-class | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refugee (visa subclass 200) | 4,996 | 5,011 | 5,132 | 5,653 | 5,173 | 25,965 |
| In-country Special Humanitarian (201) | 6 | 8 | 42 | 54 | 24 | 134 |
| Emergency Rescue (203) | - | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | 12 |
| Woman at Risk (204) | 995 | 980 | 819 | 788 | 806 | 4,388 |
| Secondary Movement Offshore Entry – Temporary (447) | 11 | - | - | - | - | 11 |
|
Secondary Movement Relocation – Temporary (451) |
14 | 1 | 6 | - | - | 21 |
| Global Special Humanitarian (202) | 6,736 | 5,183 | 4,795 | 4,511 | 3,233 | 24,458 |
| 202 visas granted by ministerial intervention | 100 | 92 | 231 | 75 | 11 | 509 |
| Onshore Temporary Protection (785) | 277 | 305 | 196 | 9 | - | 787 |
| Resolution of Status (851) | - | - | - | 39 | 8 | 47 |
| Onshore Permanent Protection (866) | 995 | 1,396 | 1,704 | 2,369 | 4,515 | 10,979 |
| Temporary Humanitarian Concern (786) | 14 | 38 | 84 | 5 | - | 141 |
| 14,144 | 13,017 | 13,014 | 13,507 | 13,770 | 67,452 |
Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Annual Reports, 2005–06 to 2009–10.
TOP 10 COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN 2009–10
Offshore refugee and humanitarian entrants
| Country | No. of entrants |
|---|---|
| Burma | 1,959 |
| Iraq | 1,688 |
| Bhutan | 1,144 |
| Afghanistan | 951 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 584 |
| Ethiopia | 392 |
| Somalia | 317 |
| Sudan | 298 |
| Liberia | 258 |
| Sierra Leone | 237 |
Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship 2009–10 Annual Report.
Onshore entrants
| Country | No. of entrants | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 1,514 | 9.7% |
| Sri Lanka | 505 | 87.8% |
| China | 92 | 42.0% |
| Iraq | 321 | 97.3% |
| Iran | 282 | 98.3% |
| Zimbabwe | 255 | 85.3% |
| Pakistan | 218 | 84.2% |
| Stateless | 192 | 98.5% |
| Egypt | 79 | 1.2% |
| Burma | 78 | 96.3% |
Source: Department of Immigration and Citizenship 2009–10 Annual Report.