114 830 asylum applications in October 2023

In October 2023, 114 830 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in EU countries, a 17% increase compared with October 2022 (97 980). 

There were also 6 225 subsequent applicants, representing a 2% decrease compared with October 2022 (6 380).

This information comes from the monthly asylum data published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on monthly asylum statistics.

Source dataset: migr_asyappctzm 

Syrian nationals remain the largest group of asylum-seekers

As in previous months, in October 2023, Syrians continued to be the largest group of people seeking asylum (24 330 first-time applicants). They were followed by Turks (15 630), ahead of Afghans (9 900), Venezuelans (5 070) and Colombians (4 835). 

Germany, Italy, France, and Spain received 66% of all first-time asylum applicants

Similarly to previous months, in October 2023, Germany (34 000), Italy (14 950), France (14 900) and Spain (12 505) continued to receive the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 66% of all first-time applicants in the EU.

In October 2023, the EU total of first-time asylum applicants was 256 per million people. 

Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2023), the highest rate of registered first-time applicants in October 2023 was recorded in Cyprus (1 188 per million people), Austria (1 050) and Greece (959). By contrast, the lowest rate was observed in Hungary (0.3).

5 040 unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in EU countries

In October 2023, 5 040 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, mostly from Syria (1 975) and Afghanistan (1 150).

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Source dataset: migr_asyumactm

The EU countries that received the highest numbers of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors were Germany (1 635), the Netherlands (950), Austria (720), Bulgaria (485) and Greece (425).