Rome, Feb. 22, (dpa/GNA) - A total of 966,000 applications for asylum in the European Union were filed last year, an increase of more than 50% compared with the previous year, the EU’s asylum agency announced in the Maltese capital Valletta on Wednesday.
This is the highest number since 2016, it said, adding to around 4 million people who had fled Ukraine and found refuge in the EU.
Syria (132,000) and Afghanistan (129,000) were the most common countries of origin among the asylum applications, the authority wrote.
Turkey ranked third among the countries of origin with 55,000 applications, more than twice as many as a year earlier.
Last year, 632,000 applications were decided at first instance, with a recognition rate of 40%, according to the statement.
The agency says the reasons for the sharp increase in the number of asylum applications include the ending of coronavirus-related travel restrictions, armed conflicts and poor nutrition in many parts of the world.
GNA