Italy registered the largest drop in 2018 in asylum requests of all European Union countries – down 61% on 2017 figures, while requests across the EU dropped by 11% overall, according to Eurostat.
Germany saw an 18% drop in asylum requests, but it remained the highest country in the EU for asylum requests, at 28% overall.
France was second at 19%, followed by Greece at 11%, Spain at 9%, Italy with 8%, and Great Britain at 6%.
Italy received 49,200 requests, Germany received 161,900 requests, France received 110,500 requests, and Spain received 52,700 requests.
The top three nationalities seeking asylum in the EU were Syrians (14%), Afghanis (7%), and Iraqis (7%).
A total of 580,800 asylum requests were filed in the EU in 2018, an 11% decline on the 654,600 requests made in 2017.
Via ANSA
