In December 2024, 62,085 first-time applicants for international protection in the EU (non-EU nationals) applied for asylum, 17% less than in November 2024 (74,485) and 20% less than in December 2023 (77,750), Eurostat reports.
There were 6,560 subsequent applicants, down 6 per cent from November 2024 (7,005) and up 15 per cent from December 2023 (5,680).
In the fourth quarter of 2024, 199,975 first instance judgements were issued in the EU, an increase of 11% compared to the previous quarter (180,965) and an increase of 19% compared to the same period last year (168,505). Of these first instance judgements, 50% were positive (99,380).
This information comes from the monthly and quarterly asylum data published today by Eurostat. The article presents some of the findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on monthly asylum application statistics and quarterly asylum decision statistics.
Syrians remain the largest group of asylum seekers
In December 2024, Syrians remained the largest group of asylum seekers (8,345 first-time applicants), followed by Venezuelans (6,345) and Afghans (5,595).
Germany (12,175), Spain (11,160), France (11,085) and Italy (9,715) continued to receive the highest number of first-time asylum seekers, accounting for 71 per cent of the total number of first-time asylum seekers in the EU.
The overall EU rate of first-time asylum seekers in December 2024 was 13.8 per hundred thousand people. Compared to the population of each EU country (as of 1 January 2024), the highest rate of first-time applicants was recorded in Greece (61.7), ahead of Luxembourg (36.5) and Belgium (25.6).
2,500 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum
In December 2024, a total of 2,500 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU for the first time, most of them coming from Syria (635), Egypt (540) and Afghanistan (295).
The EU country that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors was Germany (685), followed by Greece (605) and Spain (265).
The number of positive asylum decisions increased by 10 per cent
In the fourth quarter of 2024, EU countries granted first instance protection status to 99,380 asylum seekers, an increase of 10% compared to the third quarter of 2024 (90,580).
Among asylum seekers granted first instance protection status in the EU, 39 % were granted refugee status, 40 % subsidiary protection and 21 % humanitarian status.
Germany (28,050) had the highest number of favourable first instance decisions, ahead of Spain (22,740), France (14,845) and Greece (9,595). While Syrians (24,320), Afghans (14,535) and Venezuelans (12,475) were the main beneficiaries of EU protection status in the fourth quarter of 2024.
