EU Countries Receiving Most Asylum Applications

Last year, the number of initial asylum applications in EU countries decreased by 13% and amounted to 912,000 applications. Refugees from Syria were the most common asylum seekers in EU member states in 2024, with a total of 148,000 applications, which is 16% of the total.

According to data presented by Eurostat, the highest number of applications for residence in EU countries was from Venezuelan citizens – 73,000 applications, while the third largest group last year was Afghans – 72,000 applications. Of the asylum seekers, 36,000 were unaccompanied minors, most of whom came from Syria (32%), Afghanistan (16%) and Egypt (8%).

Germany accounted for almost a quarter of all asylum applications lodged in EU Member States. Germany received the highest number of initial applications, with 230,000, followed by Spain with 164,000. Italy (17%), France (14%) and Greece (8%). Hungary received the fewest asylum applications (25) among EU Member States.

Regarding its population size, Cyprus had the highest number of applications, with 7.2 initial applications per 1,000 people. This is quite high considering that the average number of applications per 1,000 people in the EU was 2. In terms of asylum applications per 1,000 people, Cyprus was followed last year by Greece (6.6), followed by Spain (3.4) and Luxembourg (3.2).