(16 March 2017) – In 2016, 1 204 300 first time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the Member States of the European Union (EU), a number slightly down compared with 2015 (1 257 000 first time applicants registered) but almost double that of 2014 (562 700).
Syrians (334 800 first time applicants), Afghans (183 000) and Iraqis (127 000) remained the main citizenship of people seeking international protection in the EU Member States in 2016, accounting for slightly more than half of all first time applicants.
Compared with the population of each Member State, the highest number of registered first time applicants in 2016 was recorded in Germany (8 789 first time applicants per million inhabitants), ahead of Greece (4 625), Austria (4 587), Malta (3 989), Luxembourg (3 582) and Cyprus (3 350).
In contrast, the lowest numbers were observed in Slovakia (18 applicants per million inhabitants), Portugal (69), Romania (94), the Czech Republic and Estonia (both 114).