Number of asylum claims submitted (thousands) Fig.17 Main countries of origin for asylum-seekers | 2006-2015 Syrian Arab Rep. 400 Afghanistan Iraq 2010 2011 Albania Serbia and Kosovo Eritrea Ukraine 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 received the most such claims (63,400) followed by Sweden (41,300), Germany (31,400), and Austria (25,200). In Turkey, recognition of refugee status for Afghans was nearly universal in 2015 (although relatively few substantive decisions were made), while in Sweden and Germany about three-quarters of claims were recognized (with Total Recognition Rates42 being 75 and 76 per cent, respectively). Among the 10 countries with more than 5,000 new claims for asylum from Afghans, Belgium and Norway also had high Total Recognition Rates of 80 and 83 per cent, respectively; however, in Bulgaria and Hungary these rates were below 25 per cent. In 2015, 203,700 new asylum applications originated from people from Iraq. Turkey registered the highest number of these (55,600), followed by Germany (29,800), Sweden (20,300), Finland (19,800), and Austria (13,300). As with Afghan asylum-seekers, there was near-universal recognition of Iraqis in 42 In the absence of an internationally agreed methodology for calculating recognition rates, UNHCR uses two rates to compute the proportion of refugee claims accepted during the year. The Refugee Recognition Rate divides the number of asylumseekers granted Convention refugee status by the total number of substantive decisions (Convention status, complementary protection, and rejected cases). The Total Recognition Rate divides the number of asylum-seekers granted Convention refugee status or a complementary form of protection by the total number of substantive decisions (Convention status, complementary protection, and rejected cases). Non-substantive decisions are, to the extent possible, excluded from both calculations. For the purpose of global comparability, UNHCR uses only these two recognition rates and does not report rates calculated by national authorities. 42 UNHCR Global Trends 2015 2012 2013 2014 2015 Turkey, while Germany also recognized nearly all Iraqi asylum-seekers as refugees. In the other seven countries with more than 5,000 asylum applications from Iraq, there was close to universal recognition in Jordan and Lebanon, although more than threequarters of Iraqi refugees were also recognized in Belgium and Finland (76% and 85%, respectively). However, the Total Recognition Rates were lower in Sweden and Austria at around 60 per cent and lowest in Bulgaria at 46 per cent. Individuals originating from Ukraine presented 175,500 claims for asylum, a significant reduction from the 288,600 claims lodged in 2014. The vast majority of these (85%) were registered by the Russian Federation, although claims were presented in 77 countries. Other countries with significant numbers of asylum-seekers from Ukraine were Italy (4,700), Germany (4,600), and Spain (3,400). Nearly all of the Ukrainian claims in the Russian Federation were for temporary asylum, and none of these were rejected. Recognition rates were much lower in other countries: Italy had a Total Recognition Rate of 65 per cent, while in Germany this was 55 per cent. Other national groups with large numbers of asylum-seekers included Albania (68,500), Serbia and Kosovo: S/RES/1244 (1999) (66,100), Eritrea (57,000), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (54,800), Pakistan (52,500), and Nigeria (44,000). Asylumseekers from each of these countries increased