South Africa hosts more asylum

MarcoLongari/Afp/GettyImages

South Africa hosts more asylum-seekers than any other country. Report

Despite our crumbling economy, rampant unemployment, and civil unrest; South Africa hosts more than 1 million asylum-seekers, more than any other country in the world.

South Africa hosts more asylum

MarcoLongari/Afp/GettyImages

According to a report by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), by the end of 2015 South Africa hosted more asylum seekers than any other country in the world. This, despite government’s inability to overcome economic hurdles and make a dent in unemployment.

Our unemployment figures have leaped up by 2.2% from the last quarter of 2015 to the first of 2016, bringing total unemployment to 26.7% or just over five million people. If we were to add those who’ve given up looking for work the figure would sit at a staggering 37%.

The report shows that by the end of 2014 SA hosted 1 057 600 asylum-seekers, a figure that went up marginally by another 62 200 applications in 2015, bringing our total to the highest worldwide.

The three biggest countries contributing to the global refugee crisis are Syria (4.9 million). Afghanistan (2.7 million) and Somalia (1.1 million), together making up more than 54% of the world’s refugees. South Africa currently looks after 41 500 Somalis. SA also has the highest number of pending asylum applications of any country, with the majority of asylum-seekers coming from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Zimbabweans currently make up the majority of asylum applications for SA, followed by Ethiopia (9 300), Nigeria (6 600), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6 400).