In May 2024, 76,795 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU nationals) applied for international protection in the EU, a 5% decrease compared to May 2023 (80,455), Eurostat reports.
There were 6,465 subsequent applicants, a 12% increase compared to May 2023 (5,755).
This information comes from the monthly asylum data published today by Eurostat. The article presents some of the findings from a more detailed Statistics Explained article on the monthly asylum statistics.
Syrians, Venezuelans and Afghans remain the largest groups of asylum seekers
Syrians remained the largest group of people seeking asylum in May 2024 (11,460 first-time applicants). They were followed by Venezuelans (6,170) and Afghans (5,535).
Germany received the highest number of first-time applicants
In May 2024, Germany (18,175) continued to receive the highest number of first-time asylum seekers, accounting for 24% of the total number of first-time asylum seekers in the EU.
In May 2024, the total number of first-time asylum seekers in the EU was 17.1 per hundred thousand people. Compared to the population of each EU country (as of January 1, 2024), Ireland had the highest rate of first-time applicants (37.4), followed by Greece (33.2), Spain (31.7) and Cyprus (29.9).
2,565 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum
In May 2024, 2,565 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU for the first time, most of them coming from Syria (790) and Afghanistan (390).
The EU country with the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors was Germany (1,010), ahead of the Netherlands (360).
