Asylum applications in Austria: dramatic decline by 37 percent!

Asylum applications in Austria: dramatic decline by 37 percent!

In the first half of 2023, the number of asylum applications in Austria fell sharply. A total of 8,637 people applied for asylum, which corresponds to a decline of 36.7 percent compared to the previous year. In the first half of 2022, 13,634 applications were registered. This downward trend has been observed since 2023 and is in the context of an earlier maximum of 32,351 applications between January and June 2022, such as [Kleinezeitung.at] (https://www.kleinezeitung.at/service/newsticker/innenspolitik/19918651/Asylantraege-gingen-im-ersten- half-year-37-pren-zurueck) reported.

Inner Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) plans to present the asylum statistics for the first half of the year in a press conference. This decline in Austria is also reflected in the entire European Union, but to a less pronounced extent. By the end of June 2023, the EU recorded a decline in the first year by 23 percent compared to the previous year. This phenomenon could be due to various factors such as geopolitical tensions and internal security sites.

context of the declines

The global migration movements are complex and often due to various crises. According to the UNHCR, a total of 117.3 million people worldwide were fleeing in 2023, including 6.9 million asylum seekers. The main causes of these escape movements are conflicts, violence and persecution due to political beliefs or identity. Interestingly, around three quarters of refugees are protected in countries with low or medium -sized incomes, with neighboring states often being the main clip. Only 25 percent of those seeking protection are included in countries with higher incomes, such as destatis.de.

The escape movement from Ukraine is particularly significant due to the Russian attack, in which many refugees have received a special, temporary protection status in accordance with EU Directive 2001/55/EC and generally do not apply asylum. The influences of these crises are visible in the numbers of the first applications among the nationals of the most affected nations. In 2023, most of the first applications came from Syrian, Afghan and Turkish citizens.

asylum applications in the EU

In the EU, the statistics also show that most of the first applications in countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain were recorded. Greece takes on a significant role in this context and is in fourth place with 57,895 applications. Compared to the population, countries such as Cyprus, Austria and Greece have the highest number of first arrival per million inhabitants. In Austria, for example, around 3,900 income was registered one million inhabitants in 2023.

The recognition rates of the asylum applications vary significantly between the EU countries. Germany has a recognition rate of around 52 percent, while the lowest odds in Spain (12 percent) and Romania (16 percent) can be observed. Countries like Estonia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Portugal and Poland, on the other hand, have more than 70 percent recognition of asylum applications.