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According to the EUAA’s latest data, just 85 000 asylum applications were lodged across EU+ countries in May 2024. In line with recent months, Germany continued to receive fewer, but still the most applications, with Ireland receiving the most applications per capita.  

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has releasedits monthly analysis for May 2024, showing that EU+ asylum authorities  continue to receive fewer applications for asylum compared to the long-term peak of last autumn. The number of applications lodged by Syrians (12 000) was stable compared to the previous month, though it is down by a significant margin compared to the seven-year peak of October 2023. In addition, and following increased arrivals in the Canary Islands in recent months, there was a commensurate increase of asylum applications lodged by several citizenships, including by Malian  and Senegalese  nationals. 

Persistent strain on national protection systems  

In May,  Germany (19 000) remained the top destination for asylum seekers in the EU+, receiving around 22 % of the total.  Spain (16 000) followed closely with just over 19 % of applications, while  Italy (16 000) was at a near-record high of just under 18 % of applications. Although Germany has traditionally led in receiving asylum applications, it has seen a decline in recent months, while  Italy has experienced a continuing increase month-to-month.   

Following repeated month-to-month increases in arrivals in the Canary Islands, Spain continued to receive commensurate increases in asylum applications. In May, Malians (1 800) lodged a non-trivial number of applications in the EU+, which is both a near-record level, and up three-fold compared to a year earlier; while the number of applications from Senegalese  nationals (1 200) was up nearly three-fold over the same period. Latin American nationals, including Venezuelans (6 800) and Colombians (4 900), both of whom enjoy visa-free access to the Schengen area, continued to submit significant numbers of applications in the EU+.  

Per capita rates, as a measure of pressure 

The number of monthly applications per se is not always the most representative measure of pressure on EU+ countries. Indeed, their asylum and reception systems are of different sizes and have different administrative capacities, therefore, a more telling metric is the number of asylum applications received per capita.  Cyprus (285), with its population size of 921 000, has usually received most applications per capita in the EU+; but in May, with 1 application for every 3 200 inhabitants, it stood behind Ireland, Greece, and Spain. In fact,  Ireland (2 000), with a population size of around 5.3 million received around 1 application for every 2 600 inhabitants.