Facts & Figures As of October 2013, the GDP had identified 11 dedicated immigration detention centres in Greece and 16 border guard and police stations used for immigration detention purposes, including a police facility at the Athens Airport that is used to hold non-citizens trying to leave the country without authorisation (Pappa 2012; Greek Ministry of Interior 2009; CPT 2009; Kehayioylou 2009; HRW 2008b). In 2012, 9,575 persons applied for international protection in Greece, and 9,310 in 2011. The number of asylum requests has decreased significantly in recent years. In 2008, there were 19,885 applications; in 2009, 15,925 (Eurostat; UNHCR 2013a). The number of asylum applications submitted in Greece in 2012 was less than 3 percent of the total number of applications lodged in the EU that year. Nearly a quarter of the applications were made by Pakistani nationals (2,340). Other major countries of origin included Bangladesh (1,000 applicants), Georgia (895 applicants), and Afghanistan (585 applicants). In 2011, 60 applications were submitted by unaccompanied minors, in 2012 75, of whom 20 by Pakistani and 30 by Afghan nationals (Eurostat). In 2012, protection rates in the first instance were the lowest in the EU, at 0.3 percent for Geneva Convention status and 0.9 percent for the overall protection rate (including complementary protection statutes) (UNHCR 2013b). There were 975,374 non-citizens residing in Greece in 2012, of which 151,154 were EU nationals (Eurostat). Non-citizens made up 8.6 percent of Greece’s total population. In 2012, 2,100 refugees resided in Greece (UNHCR 2013b). In 2012 and 2011, respectively, 9,415 and 11,160 persons were refused entry at the border. These figures represent a dramatic increase compared to the 3,805 refusals of entry in 2010 and 3,000 in 2009 (Eurostat). According to various estimates, the undocumented population was approximately 470,000 in 2013, 390,000 in 2011, and between 200,000–400,000 in 2006 (SRHRM 2013, Maroukis 2012; Rapporteur on Migration, Refugees and Population 2007). Irregular immigrants in Greece come from a number of countries, including Albania, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Iraq, Romania, Egypt, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Pakistan, and Georgia (Chindea et al. 2008, p.40). In 2012, 72,420 persons were found to be irregularly present in Greece. With 88,840 apprehensions in 2011, Greece had the highest number of apprehensions of undocumented migrants in the EU. In comparison, the EU countries with the next highest apprehension numbers in 2011 were Spain with 68,825 and France with 57,975. Apprehensions in Greece have tapered off considerably: In 2010 there were 115,630 and 108,315 in 2009 (Eurostat). The number of irregular immigrants apprehended in Greece was reportedly very high at the turn of the century, peaking at 259,403 in 2000. The numbers then purportedly fell dramatically to 66,351 in 2005 (Chindea et al. 2008, p.37). 18