0.01
per 1,000 residents, 2025
Moderate trust, 71 of 100 Only one source (UNHCR), so it cannot be checked against another.
Recorded change in how a source reports; hover or focus the ring for details.
Show the data as a table
| Year | UNHCR Refugee Data Finder, asylum applications (population API) |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 0.43 |
| 2009 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 0.05 |
| 2014 | 0.03 |
| 2015 | 0.21 |
| 2016 | 0.08 |
| 2017 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 0.13 |
| 2019 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 0.12 |
| 2022 | 0.05 |
| 2025 | 0.01 |
All countriesAll of Botswana's figuresCompare
Botswana among 184 countries
130 have a higher figure and 40 a lower one. Definitions differ between countries, and their years run from 2011 to 2025.
What this number counts
- Counts
- First-time asylum applicants (Eurostat) or new asylum applications (UNHCR) lodged in the country during the year, per 1,000 residents
- Where
- Botswana
- When
- Latest available: UNHCR 2025. Calendar years. (one year, not an average)
Where the number comes from (1 source)
| Source | Figure and year | Definition | Quality | Counts for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
UNHCR Refugee Data Finder, asylum applications (population API)Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) · Administrative recordsRetrieved 2026-10-27 · Data (API) | 0.012025 | New asylum applications lodged in Botswana in 2025, all countries of origin, as reported to UNHCR: 26 persons (26 lodged with the government).Applications of type "new" at first instance, counted as persons, for the full calendar year; repeat applications and appeals are left out. Divided by the UN World Population Prospects 2024 population on 1 July 2025 (2,562,122; a projection for years after 2023) and multiplied by 1,000. Years left out because they do not match this definition: 2000 (UNHCR has only applications of various or unknown type (2,657), not new applications alone); 2001 (UNHCR has only applications of various or unknown type (734), not new applications alone); 2002 (UNHCR has only applications of various or unknown type (488), not new applications alone); 2003 (UNHCR has only applications of various or unknown type (101), not new applications alone); 2004 (UNHCR has only applications of various or unknown type (24), not new applications alone); 2010 (UNHCR has only new and repeat applications combined (74), not new applications alone). Raw file: asylum-applications_2000-2025.json (UNHCR API, all countries of asylum, origin not broken down). | 5 of 5 checks
| 100% |
- UNHCR100%
How the trust score was worked out
- Quality40 / 40
How well the sources are made
- Agreement15 / 30
Unknown with one source, so set to half
- Independence6 / 20
How many separate ways the number was measured
- Freshness10 / 10
How recent the newest data is
Who reports it, and since when
- Single source: nothing to check it against
- UNHCR, 2006: UNHCR's figures for new applications in Botswana are given as persons from 2006; in the previous year with data they were given as applications of various or unknown type. source
- UNHCR, 2010: UNHCR's figures for new applications in Botswana are given as new and repeat applications combined from 2010; in the previous year with data they were given as persons. source
- UNHCR, 2012: UNHCR's figures for new applications in Botswana are given as persons from 2012; in the previous year with data they were given as new and repeat applications combined. source
- UNHCR: no figure here for 2010, 2011, 2023, 2024
figure no figure here, inside its range no later figure recorded change
Why the numbers differ
- First-time, new or all: Eurostat counts people applying in a country for the first time and leaves out repeat applicants; UNHCR counts applications of type "new" as each government reports them, which some countries define differently; the pre-2008 Eurostat series counts all applicants.
- Where people are counted: applications are counted in the country where they are lodged, in the year they are lodged. People may later move on, be transferred to another country under the Dublin rules, or apply in more than one country, so a country's figure is not the number of applicants living there.
- Population base: Eurostat lines divide by the population on 1 January of the same year (Eurostat); UNHCR lines divide by the UN World Population Prospects 2024 population on 1 July, which is a projection for the latest years.
- Rounding: Eurostat rounds asylum counts to the nearest 5; UNHCR rounded small values for 2019-2022 (values between 0 and 5 to multiples of 5, and asylum figures between 5 and 10 as well), so rates for small countries move in steps. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
- Recognition rates depend on who applies: the share of positive decisions differs widely by the applicants' nationality, and each country decides a different mix of nationalities, so a higher or lower rate in one country can reflect its applicants rather than its procedure. Humanitarian status is granted under national law and exists only in some countries.
- Copies: for every country Eurostat covers, UNHCR's figures come from the same national asylum records that are reported to Eurostat, so its line is shown but not counted again, even where its latest year is later than Eurostat's.
- Years that do not fit: UNHCR years given as cases, as combined application types or for part of a year are left out of its series; each line lists the years left out and why.
Common mistakes
- Counting people who fled Ukraine as asylum applicants: since March 2022 most have received temporary protection under the EU decision of 4 March 2022, which Eurostat counts in separate temporary protection statistics, not in asylum applications. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
- Adding countries together to count people: the same person can apply in more than one country, and Eurostat says EU totals can be overestimated for that reason. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
- Comparing first-time applicants with all applicants: the all-applicants count includes people applying again in the same country, and the two are different numbers. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
- Reading the recognition rate as the share of applicants who stay: it covers first-instance decisions only; appeals can overturn them, and decisions in a year can concern applications from earlier years. (source, retrieved 2026-10-27)
Download, cite and report an error
From the table How many people apply for asylum in each country, per 1,000 residents, and how many are granted protection? Updated 2026-10-27.
Download every value in this table (CSV)
Cite as: RealStats, “Asylum applicants per 1,000 residents in Botswana”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page.