The EU+, an association that includes Norway, Switzerland and the countries belonging to the European Union, received more than half a million asylum applications between January and the end of June 2023. This was stated by the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), which tallied the number of refugee applications at 519,000, a 28% increase compared to the same period in 2022.

According to the organization, "based on current trends, applications could exceed 1 million by the end of 2023." Asylum applications for the first half of this year surpassed a figure that had not been reached since 2015-2016. Those years, DW recalls, the conflict in Syria caused a total of 1.3 million people to request asylum in 2015, while in 2016, the figure fell to 1.2 million people.

Countries requesting the most asylum

The EUAA said that Syrians filed the highest number of asylum applications, as has happened in recent years. According to the data, Syrians filled out 67,000 claims during the first half of 2023. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the same period in 2022, and is the highest total from the country since 2016.

They are followed by Afghans, Venezuelans, Turks and Colombians. All of them, together with Syrian citizens, cover 44% of the total asylum applications received by the European Union, Norway and Switzerland during the first half of 2023.

Germany, Spain and Italy among countries receiving the most refugees

On the other side of the equation, Germany receives the most refugees. According to data provided by the EUAA, 30% of asylum applications are made there. Syrians are the most interested in emigrating to that country, and two-thirds of applications from Syria are to Germany.

Spain and Italy received, respectively, 17% and 16% of requests for asylum. Spain welcomed, according to data from the European Union organization, the largest number of Venezuelans and Colombians who, almost exclusively decided to emigrate there.