(Finance) – In May 2023, 80,375 asylum seekers (non-EU citizens) made their first application for international protection in EU countries. A figure up by 27% compared to May 2022 (63,455). On the other hand, there were 5,325 repeated applications for protection, marking a -16% compared to May 2022 (6,370). This is the picture that emerges from monthly data on asylum published today by Eurostat.
Most first-time asylum seekers are Syrians and Afghans – As in previous months, in May 2023 Syrians accounted for the largest group of asylum seekers (12,110 first-time applicants). Afghans (7,210), Venezuelans (7,015) and Colombians (6,745) follow. Following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, there has been a significant increase in first-time Ukrainian asylum seekers (from 2,100 in February 2022 to 12,185 in March 2022), but the numbers have declined monthly, down to 945 in May 2023. This is also because people fleeing Ukraine benefit from temporary protection. In May 2023, the number of first-time asylum seekers with Russian citizenship ranked 14th among all citizenships, with 1 435 applications.
Germany, Spain, Italy and France account for 78% of first time asylum seekers – In May 2023, Germany (23,235), Spain (17,405), Italy (11,045) and France (10,850) received the largest number of first-time asylum seekers, accounting for more than three-quarters (78%) of first-time asylum seekers . In May 2023, the total number of first-time asylum seekers in the EU was 179 per million people. Compared to the population of each EU country (as of 1 January 2023), the highest rate of first time applicants registered in May 2023 was registered in Cyprus (1,092 applicants per million people), followed by Austria (448 ). Conversely, the lowest rate was observed in Hungary (0.2). In May 2023, 3,065 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, mainly from Afghanistan (985) and Syria (870).
The EU countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in May 2023 were Germany (1,200), followed by the Netherlands (410) and Austria (405).
.