According to the European Office for Statistics (Eurostat), the number of asylum applications submitted in May increased by 17% compared to the same month last year, when 54,145 applicants were recorded.
The rise in first-time applicants is responsible for the 17% increase in asylum applications observed in May.
More particular, the number of Venezuelan applicants climbed by 32%, from 3,655 to 4,820, while the number of first-time applicants who were Syrian nationals increased by 24%, from 6,485 to 8,025, making them the nationality group with the highest number of applications.
Afghans and Venezuelans came in second and third, with 7,695 and 4,820 applications, respectively. In May, Columbians and Pakistanis submitted 3,535 and 2,890 applications.
Syrians made up the majority of those seeking asylum in May 2022. (8,025 first-time applicants). Afghans (7,695) came in second, followed by Venezuelans (4,820), Colombians (3,535) and Pakistanis (3,535) in that order (2,890).
“Due to Russia’s military activity against Ukraine, there was a significant surge of Ukrainian first-time asylum seekers in March 2022 (from 2,370 in February to 12,885 in March). However, according to Eurostat, in April and May 2022, the figures fell to 1,510 and 1,295, respectively.
May saw a rise in subsequent candidates, reaching 6,280, a 20% increase over 2021 and a 13% increase over April 2022.
With 13,855 applications or 22% of the total applications, Germany was the country that received the most first-time asylum requests in May 2022. Spain (10,200), France (9,800), Italy (6,450), and Austria are further recipients (5,645).
While applications from Italy and Austria accounted for 10% and 9% of all applications submitted this month, those from Spain and France each represented 16% of all applicants. Together, these five EU member states represented 73% of all first-time applicants.
The number of unaccompanied adolescents considerably rose, rising from 1,335 in 2021 to 2,635, or a 97% increase. Furthermore, these rates increased by 17% from the prior month, when 2,260 unaccompanied adolescents entered the EU.
Most unaccompanied adolescents who applied for asylum were from Afghanistan (1,215), Syria (460), and Somalia (165), while Austria (770), Germany (435), and Bulgaria were the top recipients (320).