EU granted asylum to more than 330,000 migrants in 2015
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 20 April 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, EU granted asylum to more than 330,000 migrants in 2015, 20 April 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5769003d15.html [accessed 4 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 20, 2016
The European Union's statistics agency has said EU countries granted asylum to more than 330,000 migrants last year, as more than 1 million people arrived in the bloc.
Eurostat said on April 20 that 333,350 people were granted international protection, a 72 percent increase over 2014.
Around half of them – 166,100 people – were Syrian nationals, while 27,600 came from Eritrea, and 23,700 from Iraq.
Germany has approved the most asylum applications.
Sweden came in second with protection granted to 34,470 people, followed by Italy with 29,630; France with 26,015; Britain with 17,920; Austria with 17,750; and the Netherlands with 17,045.
The EU countries that took in the least people – less than 100 – were Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
Eurostat did not say how many of the approved asylum applications were made before 2015, nor did it say how many applications from last year were still pending.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
