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First-time asylum applications in EU fall 13% in 2024, Eurostat says
reuters
reuters
Asylum applications in the European Union fell by 13% in 2024, marking the first decline since 2020, according to Eurostat. Despite the drop, Syrians remained the largest group of applicants, with significant numbers also coming from Venezuela and Afghanistan.
Asylum applications in the European Union saw a notable decline in 2024, dropping by 13% compared to the previous year, according to Eurostat data released Thursday.
In total, there were 912,000 first-time asylum requests from non-EU citizens across the EU’s 27 member states, a decrease from over 1 million in 2023. This marks the first decline in asylum applications since 2020.
Syrians remained the largest group of applicants, accounting for 16% of the total, continuing their trend as the top nationality seeking asylum in the EU since 2013. Venezuela and Afghanistan followed, each contributing 8% to the overall number of requests. Notably, first-time applications from Syria dropped by 19.2% in 2024, with nearly 148,000 new requests.
The majority of asylum seekers were concentrated in Germany, Spain, Italy, and France, which collectively received more than three-quarters of the total applications. Additionally, unaccompanied minors represented 3.9% of applicants, highlighting ongoing challenges in managing vulnerable groups.
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