The United Kingdom received around 22,619 asylum applications from Nigerians between 2010 and 2024, the UK Home Office has revealed.
In a significant year-on-year jump, asylum claims by Nigerians nearly doubled in 2024—rising from 1,462 in 2023 to 2,841 in 2024.
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.
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.