Applications for asylum grew across the OECD in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, outpacing the modest post-pandemic rebound in humanitarian admissions.
Applications for asylum grew massively in 2022, especially in the United States and Europe. : Tomáš Gal/Unsplash Unsplash licence
Applications for asylum grew across the OECD in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, outpacing the modest post-pandemic rebound in humanitarian admissions.
The number of asylum seekers making applications for sanctuary in OECD countries exploded in 2022, according to a report from the organisation.
More than 730,000 people sought asylum in OECD countries in 2022 — nearly four times as many as in 2021 and more than twice as many as in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increase was led by applications to the United States from Central and South American countries. European countries also experienced substantial increases as applications from Afghanistan and Bangladesh grew, as well as from Ukraine in the wake of that country’s war with Russia.
New Zealand was the only country to admit more people for humanitarian reasons than it had applications.
It accepted 3,864 people in 2022, more than 11 times as many people as it had applications. The numbers for humanitarian admissions also include resettlement deals between countries.
But while humanitarian admissions grew across the OECD in 2022, they were massively outpaced by the growth in asylum applications.
Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.
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