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Eurostat: In May, there were 76,795 first-time asylum applicants in EU states, 10 in Slovakia

by AI | 21.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

In Slovakia in May, 15 people applied for asylum, ten of them for the first time requested legal protection.

Illustrative photo. Photo: TASR - Henrich Mišovič

Brussels – In May 2024, 76,795 citizens of third countries applied for international protection for the first time in 26 EU member countries, of which ten sought protection in Slovakia. In the EU, this represents five percent fewer first-time applicants compared to May 2023 (80,455), Eurostat warned on Tuesday, reports TASR’s Brussels correspondent.

Poland was excluded from the survey, as it did not provide any data to the EU statistical office for the spring of 2024. Eurostat specified that there were 6,465 repeat asylum applications in the EU in May this year, representing a 12 percent increase compared to May 2023 (5,755 applicants). In Slovakia in May, 15 people applied for asylum, ten of whom were seeking legal protection for the first time.

The largest groups of asylum seekers remain citizens of Syria, Venezuela, and Afghanistan. In May, Syrians were the most numerous among the first-time applicants (11,460), followed by Venezuelans (6,170) and Afghans (5,535). Germany received the highest number of first-time asylum applicants in May 2024, a total of 18,175, representing 24 percent of all applicants in this category in the EU.

In May 2024, the total number of first-time asylum applicants in the EU was 17.1 per 100,000 inhabitants. Compared to the population of each EU country (as of January 1, 2024), the highest proportion of first-time applicants was recorded in Ireland (37.4), Greece (33.2), Spain (31.7), and Cyprus (29.9).

In May 2024, 2,565 unaccompanied minor refugees applied for asylum for the first time in 26 EU countries, most of them from Syria (790) and Afghanistan (390). The EU country that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors was Germany (1,010), followed by the Netherlands (360). (August 20)