Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans continued to be the top citizenships
In 2017, 650 000 first time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the Member States of the European Union (EU). This was just over half the number recorded in 2016, when 1 206 500 first-time asylum applicants were registered, and is comparable to the level recorded in 2014, before the peaks of 2015 and 2016.
Syrian (102 400 first-time applicants), Iraqi (47 500) and Afghan (43 600) continued to be the main citizenships of people seeking international protection in the EU Member States in 2017, together accounting for 30% of all firsttime applicants.
These data on asylum applicants in the EU are issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
They are complemented with an article and an infographic available on the Eurostat website.