A total of 2,578 people from Bangladesh claimed asylum in the United Kingdom in the first half of 2026, including 1,483 in the first quarter and 1,095 in the second quarter, according to the lasted data released by UK Home Office.
Of the 2,578 people, 1,649 were main applicants and 929 were dependants. Main applicants accounted for about 64 per cent of the total, while dependants made up the remaining 36 per cent.
There were 946 main applicants and 537 dependants in Q1, compared with 703 main applicants and 392 dependants in Q2. The number of main applicants therefore fell by 243, or 25.7 per cent, while dependants declined by 145, or 27 per cent.
The Home Office defines an asylum claim as an individual’s entry into the UK asylum system. A claim can cover more than one person when family members are included as dependants. Its dataset counts both main applicants and dependants when measuring the number of people claiming asylum.
Nearly 77pc aged 18 to 49
People aged 18 to 29 formed the largest age group, with 1,144 people, or 44.4 per cent of the total. This was followed by those aged 30 to 49, with 831, or 32.2 per cent.
Together, the two groups accounted for 1,975 people, or 76.6 per cent of all Bangladeshi people claiming asylum in the first six months of the year.
The number of people aged 18 to 29 fell from 659 in Q1 to 485 in Q2, a decline of 174, or 26.4 per cent. Those aged 30 to 49 fell from 473 to 358, down 115, or 24.3 per cent.
People aged 17 or under accounted for 554, or about 21.5 per cent, of the total. Their number fell from 322 in Q1 to 232 in Q2, a decline of 90, or 28 per cent.
There were 38 people aged 50 to 69 and 11 aged 70 or over during the period. The 50–69 age group fell from 23 in Q1 to 15 in Q2, while those aged 70 and over declined from six to five.
Men made up nearly 60pc
Men accounted for 1,527, or about 59.2 per cent, of the 2,578 people claiming asylum, compared with 1,051 women, or 40.8 per cent.
In Q1, there were 894 males and 589 females. The numbers fell to 633 males and 462 females in Q2.
The decline was therefore much sharper among men, whose number fell by 261, or 29.2 per cent, compared with a fall of 127, or 21.6 per cent, among women.
Most were dependants among under-18s
The age breakdown also shows a sharp difference between main applicants and dependants among younger claimants.
Of the 554 people aged 17 or under, only four were main applicants across the two quarters, while 550 were dependants.
In Q1, the under-18 group comprised 320 dependants and two main applicants. In Q2, there were 230 dependants and two main applicants.
By contrast, among people aged 18 to 29, there were 954 main applicants and 190 dependants across the two quarters. Among those aged 30 to 49, 650 were main applicants and 181 were dependants.
Almost all claims made inside UK
Most Bangladeshi people claiming asylum did so inside the UK rather than at a port.
Of the 2,578 people recorded in the first half, 2,554 claimed in the country, while 24 were recorded as claiming at a UK port.
Q1 accounted for 18 port claims and 1,465 in-country claims. In Q2, the figures were six and 1,089, respectively.
One UASC recorded in Q2
Almost all Bangladeshi claimants were classified as non-UASC, meaning they were not unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).
The Q1 data recorded no UASC, while Q2 recorded one UASC, a male main applicant aged 17 or under who made his claim in the country.
The Home Office describes UASCs as children who arrive in the UK without a parent or legal guardian to care for them. In the wider UK asylum system, UASCs accounted for 5 per cent of people claiming asylum in the year ending June 2026.
Bangladesh was also among the six nationalities with the largest numbers of people claiming asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2026, according to the Home Office. The six nationalities—Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh—together accounted for 46 per cent of people claiming asylum during that period.