Asier Martínez Jurio
More than 912,000 people applied for international protection in EU countries in 2024, representing a 13% decrease compared to 2023 (149,500), according to Eurostat. Spain ranks second, behind Germany.
During this period, Syrians submitted 148,000 first-time asylum applications (16% of the EU total), followed by Venezuela with 72,800 applications (8%). Afghanistan, which had been the second-highest country for six consecutive years, ranked third with 72,200 applications (8%).
According to Eurostat, with 229,700 first-time asylum seekers registered in 2024, Germany remained the EU country with the highest number of applicants, accounting for a quarter of the total. They were followed by Spain (164,000, 18%), Italy (151,100, 17%), France (130,900, 14%), and Greece (69,000, 8%). These five EU countries together accounted for 82% of all first-time asylum seekers in the EU last year.
Compared to the population of each EU country, the highest number of asylum seekers in 2024 was recorded in Cyprus (7.2 applicants per 1,000 people), followed by Greece (6.6), Ireland and Spain (3.4), and Luxembourg (3.2).
In 2024, 36,300 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, with 32% coming 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 highest 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%).
