Cyprus leads EU with highest rate of asylum seekers

Cyprus had the highest rate of registered first-time applicants for asylum compared to its population in January 2024, according to the latest monthly asylum data released by Eurostat.

Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2023), the highest rates of registered first-time applicants per 100,000 people in January 2024 were recorded in Cyprus (106.0 per hundred thousand) and Greece (58.7 per hundred thousand).

The EU average of first-time asylum applicants for the same month was 19.1 per hundred thousand people.

Overall, in January 2024, a total of 85,855 first-time asylum applicants sought international protection in EU countries, a 3% increase compared with January 2023 (83 310). There were also 7,180 subsequent applicants (people who had applied in the past and whose applications were rejected or were not completed), representing a 1% decrease compared with January 2023 (7,265).

In Cyprus in January 2024 there were 975 new applications for asylum and 350 subsequent applications. Compared to January 2023, new applications increased by 38.3% (from 705). There is no available older data on subsequent applications in Cyprus until December 2023, due to temporary derogations.

Syrians remained the largest group of people seeking asylum in the EU (13,445 first-time applicants), followed by Afghans (7,185), Turks (6,380) and Venezuelans (6,210).

The largest group of asylum seekers during the same month was Syrians (820 persons), followed by Nigerians (20), Iranians, Congolese (from DR Congo, 15 persons), Bangladesh (15) and Afghanistan (10).

In absolute numbers, the highest number of first-time asylum applications in the EU in January was recorded in Germany (26,375), followed by Spain (13,705), Italy (12,920) and France (11,620). Together, these countries accounted for 75% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

When it comes to unaccompanied minors, in January a total of 2,655 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, with most coming from Syria (810) and Afghanistan (480).

The EU countries that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Germany (935), the Netherlands (385), Greece (255), Italy (225) and Spain (215).

There was no data available on unaccompanied minors for Cyprus, as well as Poland.