Nearly 1 Million Asylum Seekers in Europe Last Year... Highest in 6 Years

28,000 Ukrainian Arrivals... Estimated 4 Million Excluding Statistics

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The number of asylum applications to Europe last year reached its highest level in six years.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd (local time), the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) announced that the number of asylum applications received by 29 countries, including the 27 EU member states, Switzerland, and Norway, totaled 966,000 last year. This is the largest number since 2016, when approximately 1.25 million applications were recorded.

Compared to 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, this represents a 50% increase. By nationality, Syrians accounted for the largest group with about 132,000 applications, followed by Afghans with approximately 129,000, and Turks with about 55,000.

The number of asylum applications from Ukraine, where war broke out, was recorded at 28,000. However, the total number of Ukrainians who entered the EU after Russia's invasion is much higher, reaching 4 million. Considering the ongoing war situation, most did not submit separate asylum applications under the EU policy that allows for temporary protection measures.

Additionally, Russian nationals filed 16,920 asylum applications, ranking 16th among nationalities in terms of application volume.