(22 September 2016) – During the second quarter of 2016, 305 700 first time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the Member States of the European Union, up by 6% compared with the first quarter of 2016.
With nearly 90 500 first time applicants between April and June 2016, Syrians remained the main citizenship of people seeking international protection in the EU Member States, ahead of Afghans (50 300 first time applicants) and Iraqis (34 300).
During the second quarter 2016, the highest number of first time applicants was registered in Germany (with almost 187 000 first time applicants, or 61% of total first time applicants in the EU Member States), followed by Italy (27 000, or 9%), France (17 800, or 6%), Hungary (14 900, or 5%) and Greece (12 000, or 4%).