Eurostat has published the annual report concerning the reception of migrants.
Protective status was granted to 538,000 asylum seekers in 2017, a decrease of nearly 25% compared to 2016. In addition to these grants of protective status, EU member states accepted nearly 24,000 resettled refugees.
In 2017, the highest number of individuals granted protective status was recorded in Germany (325,400), followed by France (40,600), Italy (35,100), Austria (34,000), and Sweden (31,200).
In other words, in 2017, France welcomed 605 refugees per million inhabitants, which is half of what Belgium or Switzerland did, equivalent to what Liechtenstein did — and therefore — six times less than what Germany did.
Among all individuals granted protective status in 2017 in the EU, 271,700 were given refugee status (50% of all positive decisions), 189,000 were granted subsidiary protection (35%), and 77,500 were granted a residence permit for humanitarian reasons (14%).
The main beneficiaries of protective status in the EU in 2017 continued to be citizens of Syria (175,800 people, representing 33% of the total number of people granted such status in EU member states), followed by citizens of Afghanistan (100,700, or 19%) and those of Iraq (64,300, or 12%).
The number of decisions granting asylum to Syrians decreased compared to 2016 (representing 57% of the beneficiaries at the time), although they continued to be the main beneficiaries of protective status in eighteen member states in 2017.
Among the 175,800 Syrians granted protective status in the EU, more than 70% were registered in Germany (124,800).
