75 445 asylum applications in February 2024

There were also 7 000 subsequent applicants, representing a 7% increase compared with February 2023 (6 540).

This information comes from the monthly asylum data published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on monthly asylum statistics.

Syrians, Afghans and Venezuelans remain the largest groups of asylum seekers

In February 2024, Syrians remained the largest group of people seeking asylum (10 465 first-time applicants). They were followed by Afghans (6 950) and Venezuelans (5 800). 

Germany, Spain, Italy and France receive 75% of all first-time asylum applicants

Germany (19 490), Spain (13 600), Italy (13 345) and France (10 205) continued to receive the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 75% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

In February 2024, the EU total for first-time asylum applicants was 16.8 per hundred thousand people. Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2023), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Cyprus (87.1) and Greece (52.5).

2 555 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in EU countries

In February 2024, 2 555 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, with most coming from Syria (710), Afghanistan (470), Egypt (145), Somalia (135) and Guinea (110).