Greece recorded the highest per-capita rate of asylum applications among EU+ countries in the first half of 2026, even as the number of applications across Europe fell to its lowest first-half level in years, according to a report by the European Union Agency for Asylum.
EU+ countries – the 27 EU member states plus Norway and Switzerland – received around 332,000 applications for international protection between January and June, down 17% from the same period last year. Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021, it was the lowest first-half total since 2019.
Greece received around 23,000 applications, accounting for 7% of the EU+ total. Relative to population, it recorded 2,254 applications per million inhabitants, or about one application for every 444 residents, according to the EUAA. Cyprus ranked second with 1,732 applications per million, while the EU+ average was 710, equivalent to one application for every 1,408 residents.
France received the largest number of applications, with around 69,000, followed by Italy with 66,000, Spain with 55,000 and Germany with 54,000. Together, the four countries accounted for about three-quarters of all applications.
Afghans were the largest applicant group, with around 39,000 applications, followed by Venezuelans with 33,000 and Bangladeshis with 20,000. Bangladeshi applications increased 13% year on year, while Venezuelan applications fell by almost one-third.
