BARCELONA, Spain — The European Union’s asylum agency on Monday released its annual report for the 27-nation bloc, plus Norway and Switzerland. Under international refugee law, people have the right to apply for asylum when they are fleeing conflict or persecution. Migrants who are fleeing poverty or looking for better job opportunities usually have their applications rejected.
Here’s a look at the situation, by the numbers:
Over 1 million asylum applications were made in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland last year. That’s 11% lower than the previous year. While Germany continued to be by far the main country sought by asylum seekers, with 237,000 requests, it also saw a 29% fall in applications compared to 2023.
The issue of migration was at the forefront of the recent German elections, which saw historic gains by the far-right and protests against tougher border legislation. Spain, Italy and France followed Germany with roughly 160,000 applications each. Cyprus and Greece received the most applications per capita, with one asylum request for every 140 residents.
The number of Syrians who applied for refugee status. While they remained the top nationality of asylum seekers, accounting for 15% of total requests, the number of Syrian applications also fell. After nearly 14 years of war in Syria, former President Bashar Assad’s fall in late 2024 opened the way for the return of millions of citizens who had taken refuge abroad.
While some Syrian refugees have already made the journey back from neighboring countries and others have withdrawn their asylum applications, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned that unless conditions in the country improved many might not remain in Syria. Afghans and Venezuelans were the other top nationalities of asylum seekers, with around 87,000 and 74,000 applications respectively.
The number of Ukrainians still registered under the EU’s “temporary protection” program at the end of 2024 but not included in asylum figures. The majority are being hosted in Germany and Poland. The temporary protection directive, an exceptional EU mechanism created for situations of mass displacement, was activated for the first time in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has been extended as the war marks its third anniversary.
Ukrainians with temporary protection do not need to apply for asylum to live, work, study or receive medical care in the European Union, albeit for a limited period of time. The European Asylum office said last year some 27,000 Ukrainians applied for permanent refugee status, up 90% from 2023. Half of those asked for protection in France.
The percentage of first-time applicants who were granted refugee status or another form of protection. The recognition rate remained stable compared to 2023 but varied widely among nationalities, the agency said. For example, 90% of Syrians had their asylum requests recognized, while 96% of asylum seekers from Bangladesh were rejected. There were also a “near-record” 981,000 cases pending an initial response, reflecting a backlog that hasn’t been seen since the peak of the refugee crisis in 2016 that overwhelmed authorities and asylum systems.
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