Increase in Asylum Applications to European Countries by One Third

The number of asylum applications to European countries increased by one third in 2021 compared to the previous year, excluding the 3.4 million Ukrainian refugees who flowed into the European Union this year. During the presentation of the annual report, Nina Gregory, the director-general of the European Asylum Agency, stated that approximately 648,000 asylum applications were submitted in 2021 to EU countries, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This represents a one-third increase over the year and a return to the levels of asylum applications in 2018, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the number of applications had decreased. The list of asylum seekers was topped by Syrians (117,000 applications), followed by Afghans (102,000), Iraqis (30,000), Pakistani and Turkish applicants (25,000 each), and Bangladeshis (20,000).