Germany has been praised in recent weeks for the lead role it is playing in Europe’s refugee crisis, saying it expects to receive – and welcome – as many as 800,000 people arriving at its borders by the end of the year.
So how does Britain compare? Earlier this year, European countries made a basic commitment to take in a combined 60,000 Syrian and Eritrean refugees over the next two years.
That included 40,000 who were already in Italy and Greece and a further 20,000 who were expected to flee the war-torn countries but had not yet arrived.
Read more: This is how desperate refugees are to enter the EU
Syrian refugees Britain has taken would fit on Tube train
Six charts that show where refugees are coming from
Germany agreed to take on a combined total of 12,500 – just over 20 per cent of the total on its own.
But amid squabbling within the EU that escalated into one of Europe’s most bitter rows in years, Britain exercised its option not to relocate any of the 40,000 already arrived, instead offering a token 2,200 homes over the two years to future asylum-seekers.
Populations compared
As a percentage of a country’s population, the UK’s 0.003 per cent commitment was the second-lowest in Europe after Hungary’s 0 per cent.
Commitments compared
Last month, it was confirmed that the total commitments of all the EU member states would in fact fall short of the 60,000 target.
And on the subject of how Britain has got on towards its 2,200 target – the number of Syrian refugees who have qualified so far would comfortably fit in a single Tube train.
