UK receives over 22,000 asylum applications from Nigerians

The United Kingdom has received a total of 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals between 2010 and 2024, according to figures from the UK Home Office.

Nigerians accounted for one in every 30 asylum claims made in the UK during this period, ranking 11th among all nationalities, based on the Home Office’s recently published year-end Asylum and Resettlement statistics.

In a significant year-on-year spike, asylum claims by Nigerians nearly doubled in 2024—rising from 1,462 in 2023 to 2,841 in 2024.

The UK saw an overall surge in asylum requests in 2024, recording 108,138 applications—a 378 per cent increase compared to 2010.

A majority of these were first-time applicants from South Asia and the Middle East.

Iran topped the asylum claims chart with 75,737 applications, driven largely by “the increasing persecution of dissidents by the Iranian regime.”

Pakistan followed with 57,621 claims, including 10,542 in 2024 alone, a development linked to “post-election turmoil, soaring inflation and a spike in blasphemy prosecutions,” which human rights groups say strengthen grounds for asylum.

Afghanistan placed third with 54,363 applications since 2010. In 2024, 8,508 Afghans applied, reflecting ongoing fallout from the Taliban’s return to power in 2022. That year, 11,358 Afghans sought asylum in the UK, followed by 9,710 in 2023.

Other top nationalities included Albania (50,944), Iraq (45,711), Eritrea (37,687), Syria (34,997), and Bangladesh (31,744), where asylum seekers rose from 5,097 in 2023 to 7,225 in 2024 amid political upheaval following the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Sudan and India rounded out the top ten with 30,897 and 30,179 claims, respectively.

Nigeria ranked just ahead of Sri Lanka (22,059) and above Vietnam, China, and Turkey. Nations like Brazil, Kuwait, Yemen, Colombia, and Jordan each registered fewer than 6,500 claims.