3.42
per 1,000 residents, 2023
Moderate trust, 68 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) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 0.56 |
| 2022 | 2.14 |
| 2023 | 3.42 |
All countriesAll of United States's figuresCompare
United States among 184 countries
6 have a higher figure and 177 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
- United States of America
- When
- Latest available: UNHCR 2023. 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) | 3.422023 | New asylum applications lodged in United States of America in 2023, all countries of origin, as reported to UNHCR: 1,176,051 persons (1,176,051 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 2023 (343,477,335; a projection for years after 2023) and multiplied by 1,000. Years left out because they do not match this definition: 2000 (the figure counts 91,596 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2001 (the figure counts 119,955 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2002 (the figure adds 74,238 persons to 58,401 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2003 (the figure adds 65,677 persons to 43,332 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2004 (the figure adds 17,064 persons to 27,906 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2005 (the figure adds 14,972 persons to 24,236 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2006 (the figure adds 16,784 persons to 24,288 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2007 (the figure counts 25,650 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2008 (the figure adds 13,838 persons to 25,490 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2009 (the figure adds 13,522 persons to 24,537 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2010 (the figure counts 28,438 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2011 (the figure counts 38,524 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2012 (the figure counts 43,040 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2013 (the figure adds 22,879 persons to 45,366 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2014 (the figure adds 32,247 persons to 63,903 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2015 (the figure adds 45,394 persons to 90,582 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2016 (the figure adds 80,567 persons to 124,234 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2017 (the figure adds 123,377 persons to 138,762 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2018 (the figure adds 109,322 persons to 96,555 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2019 (the figure adds 166,731 persons to 89,467 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2020 (the figure adds 119,300 persons to 87,678 cases, and one case can cover several people); 2024 (UNHCR's footnote says the figure does not cover the full year: "All statistics reported by the United States of America apart from resettlement arrivals are as of mid-2024. Hence, the data of new applications and decisions only include the period between January and June 2024, and the number of pending applications is as of 30 June 2024. The full year statistics for each of these are likely to be higher."); 2025 (the figure adds 629,358 persons to 282,594 cases, and one case can cover several people). 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
- Freshness7 / 10
How recent the newest data is
Who reports it, and since when
- Single source: nothing to check it against
- UNHCR, 2002: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as persons and cases from 2002; in the previous year with data they were given as cases. source
- UNHCR, 2007: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as cases from 2007; in the previous year with data they were given as persons and cases. source
- UNHCR, 2008: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as persons and cases from 2008; in the previous year with data they were given as cases. source
- UNHCR, 2010: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as cases from 2010; in the previous year with data they were given as persons and cases. source
- UNHCR, 2013: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as persons and cases from 2013; in the previous year with data they were given as cases. source
- UNHCR, 2016: UNHCR footnote for 2016: "Asylum applications and pending figures are adjusted with the average number of person per case(1.46)." source
- UNHCR, 2018: UNHCR footnote for 2018: "Asylum applications which are reported as cases can be multiplied overall by average number of person per case of 1.501 when summarising the data by country of asylum, but not origin. This is due to the significant variance in the average case size by country of origin." source
- UNHCR, 2020: UNHCR footnote for 2020: "Asylum applications which are reported as cases can be multiplied overall by average number of person per case of 1.5 when summarising the data by country of asylum, but not origin. This is due to the significant variance in the average case size by country of origin." source
- UNHCR, 2021: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as persons from 2021; in the previous year with data they were given as persons and cases. source
- UNHCR, 2021: UNHCR footnote for 2021: "UNHCR’s global reporting standard for asylum statistics is for individual level data. To meet this standard, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) shared the 2021 asylum data expressed in terms of individuals. Previously, USCIS provided data based on asylum “cases” and average family household size, which UNHCR used to estimate the total number of individual asylum applications before USCIS. The shift in 2021 to USCIS reporting of individuals (not cases) allows for more precise reporting, as well as more consistency across the U.S. asylum data, since the U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has already been reporting individual-level asylum statistics to UNHCR. UNHCR notes that the increase in the reported number of asylum applications filed with USCIS in 2021 primarily reflects this change in reporting modality." source
- UNHCR, 2024: UNHCR footnote for 2024: "All statistics reported by the United States of America apart from resettlement arrivals are as of mid-2024. Hence, the data of new applications and decisions only include the period between January and June 2024, and the number of pending applications is as of 30 June 2024. The full year statistics for each of these are likely to be higher." source
- UNHCR, 2025: UNHCR's figures for new applications in United States of America are given as persons and cases from 2025; in the previous year with data they were given as persons. source
- UNHCR, 2025: UNHCR footnote for 2025: "Statistics for the United States of America in 2025 are based on official data published by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR data covers the full year. USCIS data is reported as cases from January to September 2025, on this basis UNHCR counts one person per case. USCIS data does not include the applicants’ nationality for new asylum applications." source
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 United States”, updated 2026-10-27, with the original sources listed on the page.