75 755 asylum applications in September 2024

In September 2024, 75 755 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in EU countries, a 24% decrease compared with September 2023 (99 930). 

There were also 6 360 subsequent applicants, representing a 13% increase compared with September 2023 (5 630).

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.

Source dataset: migr_asyappctzm

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

In September 2024, Syrians remained the largest group of people seeking asylum (14 205 first-time applicants), followed by Venezuelans (5 480), Afghans (4 950) and Turks (4 455).

Germany, Spain, Italy and France received 71% of first-time applicants

Germany (18 105), Spain (12 510), Italy (11 895) and France (11 535) continued to receive the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 71% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

The EU total rate of first-time asylum applicants in September 2024 was 16.9 per hundred thousand people. Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2024), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Greece (66.0), ahead of Cyprus (31.9).

2 950 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum

Source dataset: migr_asyumactm

A total of 2 950 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, with most of them coming from Syria (975) and Afghanistan (380).

The EU country that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors was Germany (715), followed by the Netherlands (410), Bulgaria (340), Spain (320) and Greece (315).