Cyprus receives most asylum applications per mln inhabitants in EU

Cyprus ranks first amongst EU member states in the number of asylum applicants per million inhabitants, Eurostat data show.

According to data released on Tuesday, 2.875 individuals applied for asylum in 2010. The figure corresponds to 3.580 applicants per million inhabitants, which is the common method of comparison amongst member states in the EU. Sweden comes next, with 3.410 applicants, Belgium with 2.410 applicants and Luxembourg with 1.555 applicants per million inhabitants.

In total, there were 257.815 asylum applicants1 registered in the EU, a figure which corresponds to 515 people per million inhabitants. In Greece, the number of asylum applicants reached 10.275, corresponding to 910 people per million.

The most common countries of origin for asylum applicants in Cyprus were Iraq (340), India (320) and Vietnam (225). For Greece, the respective countries were Pakistan (2.750), Georgia (1.160) and Bangladesh (985).

The authorities in Cyprus reviewed 2.440 asylum applications in 2010 and granted asylum status to 425 applicants, while they rejected 2.015 applications. In Greece, the total number of applications was 3.455, approving 115, while rejecting 3.350 applications.