In 2018, 580,845 first-time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the Member States of the European Union (EU), a decreased of 11% when compared with 2017 (654,600) and more comparable to numbers recorded in 2014 before the peaks of 2015 and 2016.
The top 5 citizenships of first time asylum seekers in EU-28 in 2018 were:
- Syria: 80,920 (14% of overall applicants)
- Afghanistan: 40,990 (7%)
- Iraq: 39,595 (7%)
- Pakistan: 24,705 (4%)
- Iran: 23,195 (4%)
In 2018, the largest numbers of asylum seekers were recorded in:
- Germany: 161,900 (28% of overall applicants)
- France: 110,500 (19%)
- Greece: 65,000 (11%)
- Spain: 52,700 (9%)
- Italy: 49,200 (8%)
- United Kingdom: 37,300 (6%)
Key figures for Ireland:
Ireland received 3,655 asylum applicationsin 2018, an increase of 26% compared to 2017 (2,910).
The main countries of citizenshipof applicants in 2018 were:
- Albania: 460 (12% of overall applicants)
- Georgia: 450 (12%)
- Syria: 330 (9%)
- Zimbabwe: 280 (8%)
- Nigeria: 250 (7%)
Ireland recorded the highest share of positive first instance decisions in 2018. 86% of Irish first instance decisions in 2018 saw refugee status, subsidiary protection status, or humanitarian permission to remain granted:-
- Refugee status (53.6%)
- Subsidiary Protection (15.3%)
- Humanitarian reasons (16.6%)
- Rejected (14.5%)
For more information:
See Eurostat news release (March 2019) and Eurostat Asylum annual report .
