Greece was second in the EU for asylum applications per 1,000 inhabitants (6.6 per 1,000), after Cyprus (7.2), according to Eurostat data. The country received 69,000 first-time asylum applications, the fifth-highest number after Germany, Spain, Italy, and France, which together accounted for three-quarters of all asylum applications in 2024.
The number of first-time asylum seekers in the EU decreased for the first time since 2020. Applications fell by 13% compared to 2023, reaching 912,000, down from over one million. Syrians made up 19% (148,000) of all applicants, a consistent trend since 2013, followed by applicants from Venezuela (72,800) and Afghanistan (72,200). Asylum applications from African citizens accounted for 26% of the total, with 10% from Egypt and another 10% from Morocco. Applications from European citizens made up 14%, with 37% from Turkey and 20% from Ukraine.
Nineteen percent (148,000) of all asylum seekers were from Syria, as has been the case every year since 2013.
The decline is linked to better management of the number of people entering the EU and the increasing number of migrants and refugees stuck in North African and Middle Eastern countries, unable to reach the EU. Experts also point to human rights violations in these regions.
The rise in asylum applications from Venezuela over Afghanistan highlights the “huge difficulties” Afghans face in leaving their country.
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