Chapter 5 Table 4 | S  ubstantive decisions taken | 2  013-2017* 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 States 590,200 941,800 1,086,400 1,408,500 1,395,000 UNHCR 72,100 99,600 91,600 83,400 87,400 Jointly** 500 4,400 6,400 6,000 4,300 Total 662,800 1,045,800 1,183,400 1,498,000 1,486,600 UNHCR only (%) 11 10 8 6 6 * Provisional figures. ** Refers to refugee status determination conducted jointly by UNHCR and governments. and 9,600, respectively. Elsewhere, Greece received 7,900 claims, followed by the United Kingdom (3,300), Romania (2,700), and France (2,400). As with Afghans, the TPR for Iraqis on new applications was also variable, although globally it stood at 65 per cent. In countries with more than 1,000 decisions, the TPR varied from over 80 per cent in Austria and France to 40 per cent or less in Belgium, Finland, and Sweden. Venezuelans comprised the fourth-largest nationality of all new asylum claims in 2017 with 111,600 registered, compared with 34,200 in 2016 and 10,200 in 2015. The background and challenges in statistical reporting are described in the Text Box on p.46. The most claims were submitted in Peru, which registered 33,100, closely followed by 30,000 claims submitted in the United States of America. Other countries that received significant numbers of claims from Venezuelans included Brazil (17,900), Spain (10,600), Panama (4,400), Mexico (4,000), and Costa Rica (3,200). As in 2016, the fifth most common country of origin was the DRC, with 104,700 asylum applications compared with 60,700 claims in 2016. The recipient of the largest number of claims was Uganda, in addition to many Congolese refugees recognized on a group basis. Other countries that received large numbers of claims from Congolese nationals were all in the region, aside from 3,800 claims in France, and included Zambia (17,000), Tanzania (12,200), Kenya (7,000), Burundi (6,600), South Africa (4,800), and Malawi (4,100). Significant numbers of new claims for asylum also were received from people from El Salvador (59,400), Nigeria (52,000), Eritrea (49,800), Guatemala (36,300), Islamic Republic of Iran (35,100), and Honduras (34,900). 44 All figures in this section should be considered indicative, because the country of origin for some asylum-seekers is unknown or undisclosed by some States. Data may include instances of double counting, as some people are likely to have applied for asylum in more than one country. In addition, instances of double counting may include cases under the European Union’s Emergency Relocation Mechanism. 57 Decisions Provisional figures indicate that States and UNHCR rendered 1.5 million decisions on individual asylum applications – new, on appeal, or repeat – during 2017 [Table 4], a small decrease from the record high of 2016. 58 These figures do not include cases closed for administrative reasons with no decision issued to applicants, 59 of which 520,700 were reported in 2017. Of the total substantive decisions taken, UNHCR staff adjudicated 87,400 or 6 per cent, the same as the previous year. Data relating to individual decisions are incomplete, however, as a few States have not yet released all of their official statistics. Thus, there are likely to be additional substantive decisions that have been taken by States in 2017, figures on which will be updated later. 57 Asylum-seekers of nationalities that have at least a 75 per cent recognition rate at first instance across the EU (based on the latest Eurostat quarterly statistics) are eligible for relocation from Greece and Italy. Under this scheme, which was adopted in September 2015, 66,400 asylum-seekers were originally foreseen to be relocated from Greece and 39,600 from Italy. In 2017, about 22,300 people were relocated from Greece and Italy to other EU countries and certain member States of the European Free Trade Association. See https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/ details/62510 for details on individual countries. 58 Refers to decisions taken at all levels in the asylum procedure. 59 Also referred to as ‘non-substantive’ decisions, which may result from the death of the applicant, no-show for interview, withdrawal of the application, abandonment of the claim, or the determination that another country is responsible for the claim (‘Dublin II’ procedure), among other factors. unhcr > Global trends 2017