EU Nations Received Over 500,000 Asylum Applications in 1st Half of 2023

Experts predict figure will exceed 1 million

Refugees and migrants arrive in a dinghy accompanied by Frontex vessels at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on Feb. 28, 2020. Michael Varaklas/AP Photo

Countries in the European Union and its associated countries received more than half a million asylum applications in the first half of 2023, marking a nearly 30 percent increase year on year, according to new data published on Sept. 4 by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

Data from EUAA show that applications for asylum in the 27-nation bloc and associated countries Switzerland and Norway rose to 519,000 between January to the end of June this year, marking an approximately 28 percent increase compared to the first half of 2022.