South Africa Refugee Statistics 1993-2023

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.
  • South Africa refugee statistics for 2021 was 75,512.00, a 1.59% decline from 2020.
  • South Africa refugee statistics for 2020 was 76,729.00, a 2.13% decline from 2019.
  • South Africa refugee statistics for 2019 was 78,395.00, a 12.2% decline from 2018.
  • South Africa refugee statistics for 2018 was 89,285.00, a 0.67% increase from 2017.
Data Source: World Bank

MLA Citation:
Similar Country Ranking
Country Name Refugees Granted Asylum
Turkey 3,759,817.00
Jordan 3,047,612.00
Lebanon 1,328,541.00
Iran 798,343.00
China 303,436.00
Iraq 280,072.00
Malaysia 132,086.00
Thailand 100,510.00
Algeria 97,890.00
South Africa 75,512.00
Mexico 73,448.00
Brazil 61,956.00
Ecuador 56,603.00
Venezuela 39,328.00
Armenia 34,728.00
Serbia 25,644.00
Bulgaria 22,830.00
Russia 10,901.00
Costa Rica 10,224.00
Peru 5,790.00
Paraguay 4,484.00
Romania 4,200.00
Namibia 3,733.00
Libya 3,141.00
Belarus 2,729.00
Azerbaijan 1,676.00
Colombia 1,504.00
Nauru 953.00
Botswana 688.00
Guatemala 479.00
Kazakhstan 352.00
North Macedonia 292.00
Gabon 272.00
Bosnia 240.00
Cuba 199.00
Montenegro 175.00
Dominican Republic 162.00
Albania 109.00
Belize 86.00
Guyana 40.00
Jamaica 31.00
Suriname 29.00
Fiji 18.00
Turkmenistan 16.00
Mauritius 10.00
South Africa Refugee Statistics - Historical Data
Year Refugees Granted Asylum Annual % Change
2021 75,512.00 -1.59%
2020 76,729.00 -2.13%
2019 78,395.00 -12.20%
2018 89,285.00 0.67%
2017 88,694.00 -2.55%
2016 91,018.00 -25.17%
2015 121,635.00 8.43%
2014 112,182.00 70.03%
2013 65,976.00 1.15%
2012 65,225.00 12.65%
2011 57,899.00 0.00%
2010 57,899.00 20.69%
2009 47,972.00 10.17%
2008 43,542.00 18.54%
2007 36,732.00 4.69%
2006 35,086.00 18.07%
2005 29,716.00 7.37%
2004 27,675.00 4.23%
2003 26,552.00 13.78%
2002 23,336.00 25.50%
2001 18,594.00 23.48%
2000 15,058.00 3.57%
1999 14,539.00 73.35%
1998 8,387.00 23.05%
1997 6,816.00 -69.90%
1996 22,645.00 -77.67%
1995 101,408.00 10.35%
1994 91,894.00 -63.24%
1993 250,000.00 -63.24%