Almost a million people applied for asylum in Europe last year. That is around 50 percent more than in 2021, reports the EU Asylum Agency. Most applications were made in Germany.
The European Union recorded almost a million asylum applications in 2022. The EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) counted a total of 996,000 asylum applications in the 27 EU countries as well as in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. That was an increase of around 50 percent compared to 2021.
The number of asylum applications is thus at the highest level since 2016, when 1.2 million people in Europe applied for asylum. The latest figures do not include the up to four million war refugees from Ukraine who enjoy special temporary protection in the EU. According to the EUAA, a total of around five million people sought protection in Europe in 2022.
Most come from Syria and Afghanistan
According to the EUAA, individual EU countries recorded more applications than at any time since records began to be collected across Europe in 2008: including Austria, France, Spain and Portugal. Germany recorded by far the most with around 244,000 applications, followed by France (156,000), Spain (118,000), Austria (109,000) and Italy (84,000). These five countries alone account for 70 percent of all asylum applications.
Most applications were made by people from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Venezuela and Colombia. More than 70 percent were men. Among the applicants were 42,000 unaccompanied children and minors – more than at any time since 2016. Almost two thirds of them are Afghans or Syrians. According to the EU, almost 40 percent of the asylum applications were approved. This is the highest recognition rate since 2017.
War, climate and civil unrest
“A combination of crises, including new and ongoing conflicts, climate shocks, geopolitical unrest, violence and persecution, caused millions of people to flee their homes in 2022,” the report said. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in one of the most rapidly developing and largest displacement crises since World War II.”
In order to speed up the decisions, the member states agreed at the beginning of June on asylum procedures directly at the EU’s external borders. These should primarily apply to applicants from countries such as Turkey, India or Tunisia, who have little chance of being recognized.