Greece has recorded a 104% rise in first-time asylum applications over the past five years, according to new figures from Eurostat. Between January and April 2021, 6,640 people filed first-time claims in the country. During the same four months this year, that number climbed to 13,540, more than doubling in just half a decade.
The surge stands out against a much smaller increase across the wider bloc. EU-wide first-time applications rose 48% over the same five-year period. Spain and Italy posted even steeper gains, while Germany’s numbers actually fell during that stretch.
Greece also posted the highest rate of first-time asylum applications relative to its population, at 26.1 per 100,000 residents in April 2026, the top figure in the EU. Luxembourg followed at 20.6, and Ireland ranked third at 18.7. The EU average stood at just 9.5.
Greece’s first-time asylum applications climb as EU claims cool
Eurostat published the latest figures this month, drawing on monthly asylum data gathered across 30 European countries. The five-year climb in Greece comes even as monthly totals across the bloc have started to cool.
In April 2026, 42,960 people across the EU filed first-time asylum claims, an 11% drop from April 2025 and a 9% decline from March. Subsequent applications, filed by people whose earlier claims did not succeed, told a different story. Those totaled 9,145 in April, up 17% from a year earlier, though down 9% from March.
Venezuelans made up the largest group of asylum seekers that month, with 4,875 first-time applications. Afghans followed with 3,830, then Bangladeshis with 2,630, and Sudanese nationals with 1,720.
Four countries absorbed most of the EU’s new asylum seekers in April. Italy took in 9,710 first-time applicants, followed by France with 8,645, Spain with 8,350, and Germany with 6,140. Together, those four nations processed 76% of all first-time claims filed across the bloc that month.
Unaccompanied minors add to Greece’s migration pressure
Children traveling alone also sought protection in growing numbers. Unaccompanied minors filed 930 first-time applications in April. Most came from Somalia, with 190 claims, followed by Afghanistan at 100, and Sudan and Egypt tied at 75 each.
Germany received the most applications from unaccompanied minors, at 195, followed closely by the Netherlands at 190. Greece ranked fourth, with 90 such applications, just ahead of Spain’s 85.
Eurostat has not said what is driving Greece’s sharp five-year rise. But the country’s position as a frequent entry point for migrants crossing the Aegean Sea has long shaped its asylum numbers, keeping it near the top of the EU’s list year after year.
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