EU- Asylum Applications dropped by 34% in 2020

When we look at asylum seekers in the EU in 2020, we find that the numbers have dropped by 34% this year compared to 2019. In 2020, about 416,600 people applied for asylum for the first time in EU member states, according to figures released by the European Union’s statistics office. In 2019 this number was 631,300.

Among the EU member states, Germany, Spain, and France saw the most applications whereas Cyprus had the most per capita. The 5 member states together got 80% of all asylum applications.

Around 1 in 4 people applied for asylum in Germany. Austria was only the nation among the 9 member states with more than 10,000 first-time asylum applications where the number of requests rises in 2020 compared to 2019, by 17.5%. While all other member states saw a specific fall down, where Greece observed the biggest fall (-49.5%). In Italy, the first-time applications dropped by 39.4%The most asylum applications per capita have been seen in Cyprus. The top three countries relative to their population watched the most first-time asylum applications in 2020.

Top three countries  for asylum applications per Capita 

The nations with fewer numbers of asylum applications per capita were:

1. Hungry     (9 first-time seekers per million residents)
2. Estonia     (35 first-time seekers per million residents)
3. Poland      (40 first-time seekers per million residents)
4. Slovakia    (49 first-time seekers per million residents)

Countries from where the most applicants applied for asylum

Most of the applicants from Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Venezuela submitted the maximum number of asylum applications. They reached up to 40% of all first-time asylum applications in EU member states in 2020. Major residents of first-time asylum candidates were from:

• Syria (15% of the EU total)
• Afghanistan (11% of the EU total)
• Venezuela (7% of the EU total)
• Colombia (7% of the EU total)

Member nations (receiving) the maximum number of first-time Asylum candidates were:

• Germany (25%)
• Spain (21%)
• France (20%) 

Syrians have been the biggest asylum seekers in the EU since 2013. They were at number one with 63,500 first-time asylum seekers. Which is 15 % of all candidates. Most of the Syrians submitted their applications in Germany. Afghanistan was in the second number when the 44,200 first-time asylum seekers submitted their applications with 11% of the EU total. Applications from around ¼  of all applications from Afghanistan were submitted in Greece and France. Venezuela remained at the third number. The first-time asylum applicants from Venezuela were 30,300 with 7% of the EU total. A maximum of them submitted their applications in Spain. Colombia was fourth on the list with 29,100 people submitting their asylum applications in 2020. Almost all the applicants from Colombia submitted their requests in Spain.  

Now about Asylum

The term asylum, in the context of immigration, refers to the protection offered to a refugee by a country or state who has left his or her country of origin, or who feels insecure in the face of persecution. They cannot return to their home country. They have been or may be affected by race, religion, or any other factor. Although the right to refugee has existed for centuries, it was formally enshrined in international law in Article 14 (1) of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and later in the 1951 Refugee Convention, and its Refugee status is related to the 1967 protocol. Under the modern right to political asylum, anyone can face persecution in their home country, seeking refuge in another country or state, that is, protection. Asylum may be sought when persecution occurs or may occur, for any of the following reasons:

• Race
• Caste
• nationality
• Religion
• Political opinion
• Membership and participation in certain social groups or activities
• Sexual harassment and violence, for example, female genital mutilation
• Civil war
• Ethnic cleansing
• Tribal violence
• Sexual or gender orientation

The last five issues are not always seen as acceptable reasons for granting political asylum, but the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called these for consideration.