Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
912,000 first-time asylum seekers (from outside the European Union) submitted applications for international protection in European Union countries during 2024, a 13% decrease compared to 2023, when the number exceeded the one million mark. This is according to asylum seeker data published by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office in Brussels.
Syrians, Venezuelans, and Afghans - the main nationalities of first-time applicants
Syria has been the main country of citizenship for asylum seekers in the European Union since 2013.
Last year, Syrians submitted 148,000 first-time applications (16% of the total number of first-time applications in the EU), followed by Venezuela with nearly 73,000 applications (8% of the total EU applications). Afghanistan, which had been the second-largest country of citizenship for six consecutive years, ranked third with over 72,000 applications.
25% of asylum applications in the EU were submitted in Germany. With 229,700 first-time asylum seekers registered in 2024, Germany maintained its position as the EU country with the highest number of applicants, receiving a quarter (25%) of all first-time applicants in the EU. This was followed by Spain (164,000, 18%), Italy (151,100, 17%), France (130,900, 14%), and Greece (69,000, 8%). Together, these five countries accounted for 82% of all first-time asylum seekers in the EU last year.
Highest number of first-time asylum seekers relative to the population: Cyprus
Compared to the population of each EU country, the highest number of first-time asylum seekers registered in 2024 was registered in Cyprus (7.2 per 1,000 people), followed by Greece (6.6), Ireland and Spain (3.4 each), and Luxembourg (3.2). For the EU population, there were two first-time asylum applicants per 1,000 people in 2024.
32% of unaccompanied minors were from Syria.
In 2024, 36,300 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, 32% of whom came from Syria (11,600), followed by applications from Afghanistan (5,700, 16%), Egypt (3,000, 8%), Somalia (2,400, 7%), and Guinea (1,300, 4%).
The EU countries that received the largest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Germany (13,300, 37% of the total), the Netherlands (4,300, 12%), Greece (4,000, 11%), Spain (3,300, 9%), and Bulgaria (2,600, 7%).