Over half a million asylum applications in EU in first half of 2024
The number of asylum seekers in the EU, Norway and Switzerland has slightly decreased in the first half of the year but still amounts to more than half a million, new figures by the EU Agency for Asylum show.
From January to June, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) registered almost 513,000 new applications, a slight drop compared to the first half of 2023. The statistics include figures from all EU countries, as well as Norway and Switzerland.
Of the 29 countries, Germany received the highest number of applications, totalling 124,000 - nearly a quarter of all submissions. However, this is a fifth fewer than the same period last year, according to the EUAA.
Spain followed with 88,000 applications and Italy with 85,000. Cyprus had the highest per capita rate, with 5,327 applications for every million inhabitants. Belgium, which received 17,552 applications, ranks fifth in applications per capita with 1,495 applications per million inhabitants.
In the first half of 2024, Syrians submitted the highest number of applications, accounting for 14 per cent of the total and marking a 7 per cent increase from the same period in 2023. Afghans, the second largest nationality group, filed 45,000 applications - an 18 per cent decrease from last year. Venezuelans were third, with 73,000 applications. In Belgium, the majority of applications came from Palestinians, Syrians, and Afghans.
Asylum seekers at the Petit Chateau Fedasil registration centre in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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