The combined number of migrants seeking asylum in the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2023, climbing to a seven-year peak. A staggering 1.14 million people filed claims, a year-over-year increase of 18%.
The latest statistics highlight further the scale of migration into Europe and the potential for more rapid demographic and social change. Going into a busy electoral year, these numbers are likely to influence, if not anger, many European voters.
The figures were published on Wednesday, February 28th, in the annual report of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). They show that last year’s influx was at a level of around just 200,000 applicants below the number recorded at the height of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015-2016.
Excluded from the count are more than 4.4 million Ukrainian refugees who have received ‘temporary protection’ across the bloc, after fleeing their homes following the Russian invasion. Ukrainians are not required to formally seek international protection within the 27-member bloc.
As in previous years, Syrian nationals accounted for the highest number of asylum seekers, with 181,000 submitting applications. This represents a year-over-year increase of 38%, even though fighting in Syria’s ongoing ‘civil war’ has declined dramatically in recent years. Similarly, continuing a trend from previous years, Afghan nationals made up the second largest group, with 114,000 asylum applications; 11% fewer than were filed in 2022.
Meanwhile, asylum claims from Turkey—where, on paper at least, there is no armed conflict—jumped 82% compared to last year, rising to 101,000. One possible explanation for the precipitous rise in Turkish nationals fleeing to Europe could be the rising discontent and political oppression of the Kurdish minority, which comprises nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population of 79 million.
The EUUA’s report also notes a 67% uptick in Palestinian claims during the fourth quarter of last year, following the Hamas terrorist group’s attack on Israel in October that saw over 1,w00 people murdered and 240 taken hostage—and Israel’s subsequent military operation in Gaza. Nearly 11,600 Palestinians lodged claims in the EU+ countries.
Germany, once again, received by far the most asylum applications with the EU+, recording 334,00 asylum seekers—amounting to nearly a third of the total. Behind Germany, receiving the second and third most applications, were France and Spain, with 167,000 and 162,000, respectively. In fourth place was Italy with 136,000. Together, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy—the four largest EU member states by population—received more than two-thirds of all EU+ applications.
Per capita, Cyprus and Austria received the highest number of asylum applications.
Asylum policy and the continuous flow of migration into Europe continue to be a source of stark division and increasingly heated debate within the European Union. Conservative, sovereigntist forces continue to call for stricter border control and tougher asylum standards, while the bloc’s liberals advocate for a more open system.
