EU sees 12% drop in asylum applications in 2024, says new report

Asylum applications in the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland fell by approximately 12% in 2024, according to a report from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). The agency recorded just over 1 million initial applications last year, down from 1.14 million in 2023.

Germany received the highest number of asylum applications, with 235,925 initial submissions, but experienced a significant 30.2% decrease compared to the previous year, according to data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Most applicants in Germany were from Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

Spain ranked second with 165,398 asylum applications, followed by France (158,512) and Italy (154,824). In stark contrast, Hungary reported only 29 asylum applications in 2024, reflecting its ongoing tensions with Brussels over migration policies.

Across the EU, the largest groups of asylum seekers came from Syria (15%), Afghanistan (8.7%), Venezuela (7.3%), and Turkey (5.5%), according to the EUAA. Migration remains a central issue in Europe, particularly in Germany, where it is shaping the political landscape ahead of the country’s February elections.