Total number of asylum applicants 2011-2014 across the EU

The situation in 2015 has in many ways been different to previous migratory movements. In particular, those now seeking asylum were more diverse, came from further away, used several different routes to access the EU, and their underlying motives for migration varied more. This meant that the make-up of asylum-seekers in terms of country of origin often varied across Member States (MS). Additionally, the economic and demographic situation across the EU also varied more in 2015 than previously. However, as before, mainly a small number of countries in the EU are taking in most of those seeking asylum – Germany, Sweden, France, Belgium, Italy and the UK. Although this time some new countries, notably Hungary, have also received a large amount of asylum applications.