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Protection granted to more than 330 000 asylum seekers in 2015

Apr 20, 2016 | News

(20 April 2016) – The 28 Member States of the European Union granted protection status to 333 350 asylum seekers in 2015, an increase of 72% compared with 2014. Half of the beneficiaries were Syrians.

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© Maarit Tiittanen

The largest group of beneficiaries of protection status in the EU in 2015 remained citizens of Syria (166 100 persons, or 50% of the total number of persons granted protection status in the EU Member States), followed by citizens of Eritrea (27 600 or 8%) and those of Iraq (23 700 or 7%).

Of the 166 100 Syrians granted protection status in the EU, more than 60% were recorded in Germany (104 000).

Of the 27 600 Eritreans granted protection, more than three-quarters were registered in three EU Member States: Germany (9 500), Sweden (6 600) and the Netherlands (4 900).

Of the 23 700 Iraqis, 15 500 were granted protection status in Germany and 2 800 in France.

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