Archive Section - Fuel for tho

The Numbers

Asylum and immigration are hot topics in the UK. There are a lot of opinions floating around that try to make sense of what can be complicated issues. But what light can numbers shine on things?

Below, HeadsUp has picked out some of the important figures in the asylum and immigration issues. Perhaps they'll clear up some grey-areas for you. Of course, feel free to use them when you're in the forum.

  • £1.78 per month is paid by each UK taxpayer to support asylum-seekers
  • 2% of the world's refugees end up in the UK
  • 4 immigration Acts have been passed by Parliament in the last 10 years
  • 8th is where the UK ranks in terms of favoured asylum destinations in Europe
  • 22% of asylum-seekers in 2002 were successful in their application
  • £37.77 is the amount an asylum-seeker gets a week in the form of subsistence payments
  • 70% of asylum-seekers lack official travel documents
  • 75% of all asylum-seekers are male
  • 2,500 is the number of failed or illegal asylum-seekers the Government aims to remove from the UK each month
  • 6,200 under-18s arrived on their own to seek asylum in the UK
  • 85,865 asylum applications were made in the UK during 2002
  • 513,000 people arrived in the UK to live for at least a year in 2002
  • 1,200,000 people have emigrated to the UK over the past 20 years
  • £2,500,000 more was paid in taxes than claimed in benefit by refugees in 2000
  • 19,800,000 people around the world are classed as having refugee status
  • £1,700,000,000 is spent by the Government every year on immigration control


Sources: Office of National Statistics, Home Office, UNHCR, The Refugee Council, the Guardian, the BBC

Fuel for thought?

  • Do any of these figures come as a surprise, or are they what you expected? Why?
  • Does the percentage of successful asylum applications seem low or high to you? Why?
  • Can you think of any reasons why most asylum-seekers are men?

Now Take It To The Forum...