The top sources of asylum seekers in the United States (2024)

Key takeaways:

The top 11 nations accounted for 73% of the total asylum seekers in 2024, with each nation contributing more than 100,000 asylum seekers.
Venezuela (620,074) ranks first as the source country with the most asylum seekers in 2024.
Latin American countries dominate the top 11 list, with eight out of the eleven countries originating from the region.
Asian countries (China and India) make up a smaller share of the leading asylum-seeking populations.
Venezuela is the sole country of origin with an asylum seeker count exceeding 600,000 in 2024.

In 2024, Venezuela (620,074) registered the highest total of asylum seekers under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees's (UNHCR) mandate, topping the list of the eleven countries with the most significant displaced populations. Following closely are Colombia and Cuba, with 250,260 and 218,225 asylum seekers respectively.

Central American countries also experienced notable trends in asylum-seeking, with over 464,000 asylum seekers altogether from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Mexico recorded 173,388 citizens seeking refuge abroad, along with Nicaragua (144,767).

In addition to the Americas leading the list of the eleven countries with the highest asylum seeker numbers in 2024, China (147,909) and India (125,897) emerged as significant sources from Asia, indicating notable asylum-seeking movements. Meanwhile, over 170,000 asylum seekers were reported from Haiti.

Source:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights/the-top-sources-of-asylum-seekers-in-the-united-states-2024/" title="The top sources of asylum seekers in the United States (2024)"><img src="https://intelpoint.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/The-top-sources-of-asylum-seekers-in-the-United-States-2024.webp" style="width: 80%; height: auto; max-width:960px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Chart: The top sources of asylum seekers in the United States (2024)"/></a><br><span>Find more insights at <a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights?utm_source=Insight%20Embed&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=The+top+sources+of+asylum+seekers+in+the+United+States+%282024%29" target="_blank" style="color: #4f9acc; text-decoration: none;">Intelpoint</a>.</span></div>Copied to clipboard!

Period:

2024

HTML code to embed chart

Want a bespoke report?

Reach out

Related Insights

Egypt and Nigeria were Africa’s leading sources of international scholars in the US in 2023/24

Egypt remained the lead African country with the highest number of international scholars in the US, with 942 recorded in the 2023/2024 academic session.
As of the 2023/2024 academic session, 4,679 international scholars in the United States of America are from Africa.
A total of 931 international scholars in the US as of the same session are from Nigeria.
Africa produced 4.2% of the international scholars in the US for the session under review.

Africa saw its highest net migration gain of 328K people in 1985, followed by net migration losses except in 2020

Africa’s largest net migration gain was in 1985, with +328K people.
The continent faced its steepest loss in 2010, with -998K.
2020 was a standout year in recent decades with +248K net gain.
The 2024 net migration figure of -644K is the third-largest loss since 1955.
Despite a partial recovery in 2025 to -378K, losses still outweigh gains.

Immigrants make up nearly 1 in 5 people in Gabon, leading African countries with highest migrant populations

Gabon leads with 18.7% of its population being immigrants, the highest in Africa.
Equatorial Guinea follows with 16.4%, also driven by oil-related labor demand.
Djibouti (12.1%) and Libya (12.0%) round out the top four with migrant shares over 10%.
South Africa has the highest immigrant population in Southern Africa at 4.8%.
Most African nations still record under 5% immigrant share, indicating modest migration levels continent-wide.

UAE’s population is 88% immigrants as Gabon tops African list with 19% migrant share

The United Arab Emirates tops the list with immigrants making up 88% of its total population.
Qatar follows closely with 87% of its residents being immigrants.
Kuwait (73%) and Bahrain (55%) also feature prominently, showing a regional trend where nationals are a minority and foreign workers form the economic backbone
Middle Eastern dominance in the top rankings highlights how the Gulf region’s economic model is heavily dependent on imported labor and expatriate populations.

42% of Nigeria’s applications have been rejected over the past 15 years amidst surging demand for Schengen visas

Nigerians submitted 1.1 million Schengen visa applications between 2009 and 2024.
The highest rejection rates occurred in 2017 (53%) and 2019 (51%).
A total of 491,844 applications were rejected, a cumulative denial rate of 42.1%.
Despite post-pandemic recovery, 2024 recorded the highest applications (111k), with a 45% rejection rate.
The year 2010 stands out as the period with the least number of Schengen visa applications submitted by the Nigerian consulate.

Comoros topped Schengen visa rejection rates in 2024 with 62.90%, despite Algeria leading globally by total denials of 185,101

Comoros leads with a striking 62.8% rejection rate, the highest not just among African consulates, but also the global consulate countries
Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Nigeria follow with rejection shares between 45% and 47%.
Despite having one of the highest total visa rejections globally, Algeria does not appear in this chart, as its rejection share is comparatively lower.
Countries with smaller applicant pools tend to have higher rejection rates, shedding light on access disparities and approval scrutiny in consulate processes.