In 2017, 538,000 persons were granted international protection in the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU-28), a decrease of almost 25% from 2016 (710,400).
In addition to these, the EU Member States received nearly 24,000 resettled refugees.
Out of all the persons who were granted protection status in 2017 in the EU-28:
- 271,600 persons (50% of all positive decisions) were given refugee status
- 189,000 (35%) were granted subsidiary protection
- 77,500 (14%) were authorised to stay for humanitarian reasons[1]
The top 3 citizenships of granted protection were:
- Syria: 175,800 (33% of overall applicants)
- Afghanistan: 100,700 (19%)
- Iraq: 64,300 (12%).
The highest number of persons granted protection status were registered in:
- Germany: 325,400
- France: 40,600
- Italy: 35,100
- Austria: 34,000
- Sweden: 31,200
Key figures for Ireland:
In Ireland 720 positive decisions on asylum applications were made in 2017 compared to 790 in 2016.
- 605 were granted refugee status
- 45 were granted subsidiary protection status
- 70 were authorised to stay for humanitarian reasons
In 2017, 275 persons were received as resettled refugees in Ireland.
The main countries of citizenship of applicants granted protection were:
- Syria: 470 (or 65% of the total number)
- Iraq: 65 (or 9%)
- Libya: 30 (or 4%)
For more information:
See Eurostat news release (April 2018)
[1] refugee and subsidiary protection status are defined by EU law, humanitarian status is granted only on the basis of national legislation.
