Nationals from Colombia and Peru apply for asylum in the EU+ in record numbers

The monthly total of applications for international protection remains relatively stable.

In May 2019, the monthly number of applications for international protection lodged in the 30 EU+ countries (European Union Member States plus Norway and Switzerland) remained stable at around 57 000. However since the start of the year, some 287 500 applications have been lodged, which is 14 % more than in the same period last year.

The ten main citizenships of origin of applicants in May were Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iraq, Colombia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Georgia. The most notable rising trend was for Colombian nationals, with 2 800 applications reaching the highest values in the past few years. Be it with smaller absolute numbers, a record level was also reached for Peruvian applications.

After a dip in April, in May there was again a 7 % increase in the number of first-instance decisions issued in the EU+, reaching 47 275. The recognition rate dropped slightly to 32 % in May, or 35 % when combining decision-data for the six-month period ending in May. The highest six-month recognition rates were for citizens from Yemen (89 %), Syria (87 %) and Eritrea (80 %) and the lowest for nationals from Moldova (0.4 %), North Macedonia (1 %), Georgia and India (each 3 %).

At the end of May, the number of cases awaiting a first-instance decision was stable with some 445 000 cases. Compared to the same month of last year, the stock went up by 16 300.

For more information and an interactive data-visualisation, please visit the Latest Asylum Trends page.