1. Introduction Over the past decade, the number of forcibly displaced people across the globe has increased dramatically, even almost doubled. Migration patterns have been shaped by various political and socio-economic situations around the world. With the onset of the pandemic, there has been an appeal from the UN general secretary for a global ceasefire, but the displacements have not stopped. Covid-19 has led to implementation of many restrictions including border closures, which have consequently led to a significant reduction in migration but it has still not ceased (UNHCR, 2020).
▲ Table 1. Yearly global refugee statistics. Source; (UNHCR, 2021)
Not all of the displaced people are granted asylum by the host countries. Forcibly displaced persons include both asylum seekers and refugees. Asylum seekers are defined as people who are outside their country of origin and seeking formal protection but have not had their claims to refugee status assessed (Ziersch et al., 2017). Germany has been a prime destination for asylum seekers migrating to Europe. In the first quarter of 2016, Germany was where 61% of first-time asylum applicants were registered during the period, the highest among all European states. Subsequently, in 2017, Germany had accounted for 31% of all first-time asylum applicants in the EU. In 2018, Germany hosted 28% of asylum seekers in the EU, and in 2019, it came down to 23%. There is an observable decline in asylums given to applicants but there is a big population of refugees and asylum seekers in the country (Eurostat, 2016; 2018; 2019; 2020). According to UNHCR (2020), Germany hosts 1.1 million refugees, more than any other European nation, and is the fifth biggest host country in the world in terms of the number of refugees hosted. Surveys conducted could identify the reasons for Germany being a preferred destination country. The respect for human rights in the country was the main reason among other reasons like the educational system, the welcoming culture, economic situation, and 7
