Asylum seekers in the EU: Six things to know about 2024 report

The European Union’s asylum agency recently released its annual report analyzing asylum trends for the EU, Norway and Switzerland (referred to together as EU+) over the past year.

The bloc received approximately one million applications for asylum in 2024, breaching the one million mark for the third year in a row. But there was a notable decrease of 11% percent in applications compared to the previous year.

InfoMigrants summarized key findings from the EU’s recent asylum report:

1. Top countries of origin stretch from Europe to South Asia

The top 10 countries of origin among asylum seekers in the EU+ included Syria, EU neighbors Turkey and Ukraine, and countries in Latin America, North Africa and Asia. The list below enumerates the number of asylum applications lodged in 2024 per country of origin and alongside it, which European countries typically received these applications.

1. Syria: 150,766 asylum applications lodged mostly in Germany, Greece, and Austria
2. Afghanistan: 87,382 asylum claims filed in Germany, Greece, and France
3. Venezuela: 73,817 claims submitted in Spain, Germany, and Italy
4. Turkey: 55,705 asylum claims filed in Germany, France, and Greece
5. Colombia: 51,529 applications filed in Spain, Germany, and Italy
6. Bangladesh: 43,236 applications in Italy, France, and Ireland
7. Ukraine: 27,437 bids for asylum in France, Poland, and Italy
8. Peru: 27,242 claims made in Italy, Spain, and France
9. Egypt: 25,434 applications in Italy, Greece, and Germany
10. Morocco: 25,347 applications in Italy, Spain, and Slovenia

A list of top countries and additional details regarding decisions and application status may be viewed in this table.

2. Asylum applications from Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey down 

Syrians remained the largest group of people seeking international protection in the EU+ in 2024. Syrians filed nearly 151,000 applications, accounting for 15% of the total. However, compared to the previous year, this number marked a 17% decrease.  

Some EU countries temporarily suspended the processing of Syrian asylum claims following the fall of the Assad Regime in December, but Syrians may continue submitting asylum applications. Because of this, the EU Asylum Agency noted that the number of pending asylum applications from Syrians may still increase.  

Similarly, there were fewer Afghans who filed asylum applications. Last year Afghan nationals lodged approximately 87,000 applications, 24% fewer compared to 2023.  

Turkish asylum applications declined by nearly 50% in the EU+ last year. This came after applications from Turks had soared in 2023, briefly making them the second-largest applicant group, mainly in Germany.

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3. Asylum applications from Mali and Senegal up 

Nationals from Mali and Senegal filed a significant number of asylum applications in 2024; most of them in Spain after landing on the Canary Islands.

Mali nationals filed around 17,000 claims which is more than double the number of applications last year. Applications from Senegalese nationals doubled to 14,000. Over the last couple of years, Senegal has seen an unprecedented uptick in emigration as a result of the precarious political and economic landscape.

The UN Refugee Agency estimates that about 5.5 million people in the African Central Sahel region (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger) have been displaced by the insecurity brought on by the climate crisis intersecting with the political instability in the region.

The displacement in the Sahel coincides with record numbers of migrant arrivals on the Canary Islands.  

In 2024, Spanish authorities reported about 47,000 irregular arrivals on the Canary Islands. Border guard agency Frontex said that the route from West Africa to the Canaries was the EU’s busiest migratory route by year-end.

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4. Top countries of destination was Germany, but Cyprus and Greece saw most applications per capita

The top 5 EU+ countries that received the most number of asylum applications in 2024 were:

1. Germany: 237,314 or 23% of all asylum applications
2. Spain: 165,767
3. Italy: 158,867
4. France: 158,730
5. Greece: 73,688

Germany received the most number of asylum applications in the EU+ while Spain, Italy, and France received roughly about 16% of all applications.

The EU Asylum report noted that nearly a third of all applications in Germany were lodged by three countries: Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey There was a similar pattern in Greece, but elsewhere in the EU+, the countries of origin varied.

Spain, Italy, and France all received about the same number of asylum applications, however, the report noted the vast differences in the nationalities of asylum seekers in these countries.

• Spain: Venezuelan and Colombian nationals dominated asylum applications, accounting for two-thirds of all applications lodged.
• Italy: Bangladeshi nationals were the largest group of applicants, making up 21% of all applications
• France: There was no single nationality dominating the asylum application system. Claims were more evenly distributed among several citizenships, namely Ukrainians, Afghans, Haitians, and Congolese (DR). Nationals from these countries represented about 6–9% of all asylum bids.

Cyprus had the highest rate of applications in the EU+ in 2024. The country received 6,800 claims for asylum. In relation to its small population of less than one million, this translates to one application for every 138 inhabitants. Greece had the second highest number of asylum applicants per capita in 2024, with one application per 141 residents.

At the EU+ level, there was roughly one asylum application filed per 457 residents.

Additional details about destination countries may be viewed in this table.

5. About 40% of asylum seekers are granted protection; rate much higher for Syrians, Afghans, much lower for Turks and Bangladeshis

Over the past two years, roughly 40% of asylum seekers have been granted protection in the EU+ in first instance — but recognition rates vary widely for different nationalities.

Syrian applicants were reported to have a recognition rate of 90%, while Afghan applicants were pegged at 63%. Turkish applicants had a much lower recognition rate at 17%. Georgian and Bangladeshi applicants had recognition rates of approximately 4%.

For some nationalities, protection rates saw changes not only in the percentage of decisions that grant protection but also in the type of protection granted. The report from the EU asylum agency highlighted:

• Turks: Steady decline of recognition rate from 54% in 2019 to just 17% in 2024
• Syrians: The recognition rate stood above 90% in 2023 and 2024. Most cases were decided with the granting of subsidiary protection rather than refugee status. Last year, refugee status accounted for just 28% of all decisions for Syrian nationals. Whether fewer Syrians will be granted protection because of the regime change remains to be seen.
• Afghans: The recognition rate remained steady at about 63% in 2024. However, an increasing proportion were granted refugee status, from 19% in 2019 increasing to 54% in 2024. 

6. Spain: High number of applicants from visa-free countries

Roughly a quarter of all asylum applications in 2024 came from people allowed to travel to the EU+ without a visa.

Spain received the largest share of applications from nationals of visa-free countries. Venezuelans lodged 74,000 asylum claims in Spain while and Colombians submitted 52,000 applications.

In 2023, the European Commission proposed revising EU Regulation 2018/1806, the policy that outlines what countries’ citizens do not need visas to enter Schengen States.

The Commission is reportedly reviewing the list of countries with visa-free entry to the EU to reduce irregular migration. The European Parliament is set to vote on the revised mechanism soon.  

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