Health & Population · Glossary
Asylum-seekers by country or territory of origin
SM.POP.ASYS.EO
Definition
Asylum-seekers are individuals who have sought international protection and whose claims for refugee status have not yet been determined. This includes those who are in various stages of the asylum process, such as initial application, appeal, or awaiting final decision. In specific contexts, asylum-seekers may also include those who are seeking protection under complementary forms of protection, and those enjoying temporary protection, but whose claims are still under consideration.
Methodology for Health & Population indicators
Health and population indicators come from national vital-registration systems, demographic and health surveys, and modeling by the UN Population Division and WHO. Mortality and morbidity estimates are often modeled rather than directly observed in lower-capacity statistical systems, which means some figures are interpolations between survey years. Life expectancy is a "period" measure based on current age-specific mortality, not a forecast of how long someone born today will actually live.
How to interpret
- Always check the unit and reporting year before comparing values across countries.
- NULL or "Not available" means the World Bank did not publish a value — we never estimate.
- Year-over-year changes can be driven by methodology updates, not just real economic shifts.
Related indicators in Health & Population
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population)
- Net migration
- Population ages 65 and above (% of total population)
- Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
- Population, total
- Fertility rate, total (births per woman)
- Urban population (% of total population)
- Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19)