Greece GR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 38,948.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 46,427.000 Person for 2016. Greece GR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 5,650.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 46,427.000 Person in 2016 and a record low of 1,444.000 Person in 2010. Greece GR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Greece – Table GR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of asylum is the country where an asylum claim was filed and granted.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Greece GR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 101.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 105.000 Person for 2016. Greece GR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 99.000 Person from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 331.000 Person in 2005 and a record low of 1.000 Person in 1993. Greece GR: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Greece – Table GR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Graph and download economic data for Refugee Population by Country or Territory of Asylum for Greece (SMPOPREFGGRC) from 1960 to 2023 about refugee, Greece, World, and population.

Information about asylum applications lodged in 38 European and 6 non-European countries. Data are broken down by month and origin. Where possible, figures exclude repeat/re-opened asylum applications and applications lodged on appeal or with courts. For some countries, the monthly data are available since 1999 while for others at a later period.

Greece immigration statistics for 2015 was 1,242,514, a 2.14% decline from 2010.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Greece immigration statistics for 2010 was <strong>1,269,749</strong>, a <strong>6.64% increase</strong> from 2005.</li>
<li>Greece immigration statistics for 2005 was <strong>1,190,707</strong>, a <strong>7.11% increase</strong> from 2000.</li>
<li>Greece immigration statistics for 2000 was <strong>1,111,665</strong>, a <strong>29.59% increase</strong> from 1995.</li>
</ul>International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.

This statistic shows the number of accepted first instance asylum applications in Greece, from first quarter 2014 to first quarter 2019. Over the period, the number of applicants accepted by Greece increased more than thirteenfold.

This statistic shows the annual growth figures of successful grants of asylum for refugees in Greece from 2008 until 2017. Comparing 2008 to 2017, there has been an overall increase of over 10 thousand refugees successfully qualifying for asylum in Greece. The peak was in 2015 at approximately 4 thousand.

Under the European Union (EU) Relocation Scheme in 2015, the EU member states were obliged to relocate refugees from Italy and Greece. As of April 2018, Germany transferred ****** out of 27,536 refugees it was required to relocate, while Czechia only relocated ** out of 2,691 persons. Non-EU countries Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein also resettled refugees. The European Commission launched treaty infringement procedures against Poland, Czechia, and Hungary for not complying with their obligations on the refugee relocation.

Abstract

The closure of the so-called "Balkan route" and the EU-Turkey Statement in March 2016 changed Greece from a transit country to a country hosting a growing population of refugees and asylum seekers. To address the needs of this growing population staying on the Greek mainland, the Greek Government established Open Reception Facilities (ORFs) in Northern and Central Greece. In the beginning of 2016, UNHCR through its partners established urban accommodation schemes to host asylum seekers eligible for relocation as part of the European solidarity measures. The program evolved to focus on the most vulnerable asylum seekers for whom accommodation in the ORFs was unsuitable. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) set up a similar accommodation program in late 2016 also focusing on the most vulnerable. Arrivals at the Greek-Turkish land border increased in late 2017 and as a result a higher number of people started arriving directly to Thessaloniki, without having presented themselves to the authorities at the border. Hence, they were not registered by the Greek authorities and as a consequence lacked access to a dignified shelter, or other forms of basic assistance available to asylum seekers and refugees. The Municipality of Thessaloniki and the humanitarian community jointly decided to conduct a profiling exercise of the refugees and asylum seekers hosted in Thessaloniki as well as Third Country Nationals not registered with the Asylum Service in Thessaloniki. The objective was to explore the extent to which refugees and asylum seekers were moving towards local integration. This was done by looking at their outlook for the future as well as the obstacles and possibilities towards greater economic and socio-cultural integration in Greece. The analysis of persons with no asylum service documentation focused on the key challenges faced by those groups, such as lack of a regularized status and homelessness. The collected data would form a baseline for future integration monitoring and would additionally be a useful tool for the implementation of integration activities as foreseen in national and local strategies for integration. The survey included a total of 861 households. The survey found out that the great majority of refugees and asylum seekers in the accommodation scheme and in the ORF had been in Thessaloniki less than one year. The majority of the households in the accommodation scheme (60%) reported that they intended to stay in Thessaloniki in the long term, and one of the main conditions for being able to integrate locally is finding employment. Amongst the households in the ORF, less than half intended to stay in Thessaloniki (45%) and more than a third (38%) intended to move to another EU country. For those intending to stay, being able to integrate locally was very much linked to finding a different accommodation solution. The households having found their own accommodation were on average living longer in Thessaloniki, as almost half of them had lived in the city for more than one year compared to other groups who have been living in their majority in their accommodation for less than one year. This group of refugees and asylum seekers also included the biggest group reporting that they intended to stay in Thessaloniki longer term (76%). For them the main condition for local integration was access to employment and getting the status of international protection. Accessing employment as a key condition for local integration was also highlighted and confirmed during community consultations with asylum seekers and refugees.

Geographic coverage

Thessaloniki.

Analysis unit

Household and individual

Sampling procedure

In total, the survey of refugees and asylum seekers covered 1,808 individuals comprising 641 households. The sample was stratified by accommodation type into three strata: - Those in the urban accommodation scheme who have been provided with apartments - Those self-accommodated in Thessaloniki, i.e. are either renting an apartment by themselves, or being hosted by friends, relatives or volunteers - Those who were fully registered residents of the Open Reception Facilities (ORF)

The sampling frame for refugees and asylum seekers was UNHCR's ProGres database, while for the ORF, a site population list provided by the camp manager was used as a basis to generate a sample. A simple random sample of households was initially drawn for the accommodation scheme strata and the self-accommodated strata shortly before the data collection was due to begin. During data collection, reaching a majority of the sampled households was challenging due to the listed phone numbers being outdated, as persons of concern often change their pre-paid SIM cards. Unannounced home visits were not an option given time and resource constraints. It was therefore decided to aim for full coverage of both these strata, expecting that a high proportion of the persons in the ProGres database for these strata would not be reachable by phone. To assess potential bias introduced by this approach, the demographic profile of the surveyed persons was compared to that of the whole population of refugees and asylum seekers in the UNHCR ProGres database. The age and sex figures of the population were compared to the survey figures. The sample distributions resemble the population distributions quite closely on the basis of these demographic characteristics. As such, the overall impression is that there is little skew in the survey data for these two strata. It is therefore assumed that the survey results are representative and can be applied to the population as a whole. For the strata of the Open Reception Facility (ORF), the most update site registration list was obtained from the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) that manages the site. The enumerators managed to get in touch with at least one representative of each of the registered households living in the site at the time of the data collection. No one declined the request for an interview. It was not relevant to compare the surveyed population to the UNHCR database list to assess representativity, given that the population in the site had changed significantly since the list for that strata had been assembled by the camp manager in the site. Since a full count of the site population was achieved, the results are considered to be representative for the population.

A different sampling took place for third country nationals not registered with the Asylum Service. The unified registry for persons with police notes (EURODAC II) could not be accessed for the purpose of the profiling study. Although organizations that provide assistance to police note holders hold information about this population group, including UNHCR which provides cash assistance, there is no exhaustive list. Similarly there is no unified registry for undocumented persons. However, through comparing aggregated information from multiple service providers, a population figure of 200 households was estimated as a rough baseline. In the absence of a registry, it was not possible to construct a list from which a random sample could be drawn. Thus, a non-probability sampling strategy was applied, which included convenience sampling approaches. With non-probability approaches it is not possible to establish how well the sample represents the population unless all members of a given target group have been interviewed. Convenience sampling is a type of non-probability sampling method, where the sample is taken from a group of people easy to contact or to reach, e.g. by snowballing techniques where respondents identify other respondents known to them. The enumeration team interviewed 451 persons making up 227 households under the category of third country nationals not registered with the Asylum Service. This number of households interviewed was slightly higher than the number originally foreseen, a possible explanation for this being the aforementioned influx of arrivals to Thessaloniki the same month. The survey results support this theory, as more than half of the survey respondents from this target group had been in Thessaloniki for less than a month at the time of the interview. The high number of recent arrivals made the estimate of the total population more uncertain. In addition, many of the persons who were approached, declined to be interviewed. As a result, it is difficult to assess how representative the interviewees were of the target group.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The survey questionnaire used to collect the data consists of the following sections: migration history family unity & mobility, housing, basic demographics, education, employment & work stats, household economy, access to health admin social and humanitarian services, social links and interaction, future intentions, social and cultural integration.

Cleaning operations

Data was anonymized through decoding and local suppression.

In 2023, member states of the European Union received in total 677,625 applications for asylum, of which almost half were rejected. Asylum seekers are people who have left their home countries due to a fear of persecution or violations of their human rights, often for political reasons. An asylum seeker becomes a refugee upon being granted asylum, with a number of rights such as being allowed to stay in the country of asylum for an extended period of time then being granted. In spite of the large numbers of refugees from fleeing from Ukraine into the European Union due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, these refugees are mostly not recorded in the data on asylum seekers in Europe, as most EU countries opted to grant refugee status to all Ukranian nationals fleeing the country immediately upon entry, therefore bypassing the need to make an asylum case. As of 2022, the country which received the greatest number of asylum applications (and which also granted the greatest number of applications) was Germany, which received almost 217,000 applications. France, the country which received the second highest number of asylum applications, granted far fewer people refugee status, denying almost three times as many applications as they granted. A small number of countries in the EU take on the vast majority of asylum seekers, with these countries - Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Belgium, and Sweden - exclusively coming from the older members of the EU, who joined before the 2004 enlargements.

Greece GR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 11.342 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.360 % for 2010. Greece GR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 10.452 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.360 % in 2010 and a record low of 6.101 % in 1990. Greece GR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Greece – Table GR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

Asylum Applications in Greece increased to 3160 persons in May from 3085 persons in April of 2025. Greece Asylum Applications - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on July of 2025.

The total number of refugees in France has gradually increased for more than ten years. Since the 20th century, France has been considered an important host country for immigrants. During the past century, the country welcomed political refugees, immigrants from other European nations, and immigrants from the former French territories in Africa. The distribution of refugees in France and Europe More recently, the refugee crisis has partly shaped immigration in France. In 2023, there were 142,496 asylum applications in the country, compared to nearly 42,600 in 2008. Since 2015, the European Union (EU) has implemented the Relocation Scheme, which transfers persons needing international protection from one Member State to another. With most immigrants using the Mediterranean Route to reach Europe, France relocated 5,035 refugees from Greece and Italy in 2018, while Germany keeps being the European country to host most refugees in Europe. Refugees worldwide Migration is a common challenge for the members of the EU. But it is also a worldwide phenomenon. In 2023, Iran was the largest refugee-hosting country with more than 3.4 million refugees. The number of refugees worldwide, whether internally displaced persons or not, has increased since 2013. Ten years later, in 2023, the situation of countries such as South Sudan or Afghanistan has forced millions of people to flee and seek refuge elsewhere.

In 2024, Turkey was the country that hosted the highest amount of Syrian refugees, amounting up to 3.1 million refugees. Lebanon was second, hosting 775,000 Syrian refugees. The data refers to the total number of Syrian refugees in a given country, not considering the date of their application for asylum or the date of their flight.

The closure of the so-called "Balkan route" and the EU-Turkey Statement in March 2016 changed Greece from a transit country to a country hosting a growing population of refugees and asylum seekers. To address the needs of this growing population staying on the Greek mainland, the Greek Government established Open Reception Facilities (ORFs) in Northern and Central Greece. In the beginning of 2016, UNHCR through its partners established urban accommodation schemes to host asylum seekers eligible for relocation as part of the European solidarity measures. The program evolved to focus on the most vulnerable asylum seekers for whom accommodation in the ORFs was unsuitable. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) set up a similar accommodation program in late 2016 also focusing on the most vulnerable. Arrivals at the Greek-Turkish land border increased in late 2017 and as a result a higher number of people started arriving directly to Thessaloniki, without having presented themselves to the authorities at the border. Hence, they were not registered by the Greek authorities and as a consequence lacked access to a dignified shelter, or other forms of basic assistance available to asylum seekers and refugees. The Municipality of Thessaloniki and the humanitarian community jointly decided to conduct a profiling exercise of the refugees and asylum seekers hosted in Thessaloniki as well as Third Country Nationals not registered with the Asylum Service in Thessaloniki. The objective was to explore the extent to which refugees and asylum seekers were moving towards local integration. This was done by looking at their outlook for the future as well as the obstacles and possibilities towards greater economic and socio-cultural integration in Greece. The analysis of persons with no asylum service documentation focused on the key challenges faced by those groups, such as lack of a regularized status and homelessness. The collected data would form a baseline for future integration monitoring and would additionally be a useful tool for the implementation of integration activities as foreseen in national and local strategies for integration. The survey included a total of 861 households. The survey found out that the great majority of refugees and asylum seekers in the accommodation scheme and in the ORF had been in Thessaloniki less than one year. The majority of the households in the accommodation scheme (60%) reported that they intended to stay in Thessaloniki in the long term, and one of the main conditions for being able to integrate locally is finding employment. Amongst the households in the ORF, less than half intended to stay in Thessaloniki (45%) and more than a third (38%) intended to move to another EU country. For those intending to stay, being able to integrate locally was very much linked to finding a different accommodation solution. The households having found their own accommodation were on average living longer in Thessaloniki, as almost half of them had lived in the city for more than one year compared to other groups who have been living in their majority in their accommodation for less than one year. This group of refugees and asylum seekers also included the biggest group reporting that they intended to stay in Thessaloniki longer term (76%). For them the main condition for local integration was access to employment and getting the status of international protection. Accessing employment as a key condition for local integration was also highlighted and confirmed during community consultations with asylum seekers and refugees.

This page presents information on resettlement arrivals of refugees, with or without UNHCR assistance. This dataset is based on Government statistics and, in principle, excludes humanitarian admissions.

Greece - Asylum and first time asylum applicants was 3720.00 persons in May of 2025, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Greece - Asylum and first time asylum applicants - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Greece - Asylum and first time asylum applicants reached a record high of 11045.00 persons in November of 2023 and a record low of 715.00 persons in May of 2023.

Greece - Persons subject of asylum applications pending at the end of the month was 30415.00 persons in May of 2025, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Greece - Persons subject of asylum applications pending at the end of the month - last updated from the EUROSTAT on July of 2025. Historically, Greece - Persons subject of asylum applications pending at the end of the month reached a record high of 48090.00 persons in August of 2021 and a record low of 17825.00 persons in June of 2023.

Greece - Final decisions on asylum applications: Rejected was 12010.00 persons in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Greece - Final decisions on asylum applications: Rejected - last updated from the EUROSTAT on June of 2025. Historically, Greece - Final decisions on asylum applications: Rejected reached a record high of 22340.00 persons in December of 2020 and a record low of 5.00 persons in December of 2010.

Greece GR: International Migrant Stock: Total data was reported at 1,242,514.000 Person in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,269,749.000 Person for 2010. Greece GR: International Migrant Stock: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 463,700.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2015, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,269,749.000 Person in 2010 and a record low of 52,495.000 Person in 1960. Greece GR: International Migrant Stock: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Greece – Table GR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2012 Revision.; Sum;