After a drop in 2020, asylum applications in the EU, Norway and Switzerland ('EU+') increased by a third in 2021, figures from the European Union Asylum Agency show. The increase, mainly in the second half of the year, was driven by significantly more Afghan and Syrian applications.

Overall, there were around 617,800 applications for international protection in the EU+ in 2021. The majority were first time applications.

In 2020, the drop in applications was due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure is now close to pre-pandemic levels between 2017 and 2019.

Top 5 countries of origin: Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey

Afghans lodged twice as many applications (about 97,800) as in 2020, and in the last few months of the year, following the Taliban takeover, Afghans became the largest group of applicants for asylum in Europe.

Overall in 2021, however, Syrians were the main applicants, lodging around 106,000 applications, almost two thirds more than in 2020.

Applications from Syrians and Afghans still remain much lower than they were in 2015/2016.

Also read: Sharp rise in asylum applications in Germany

The other main countries of origin of asylum applicants in 2021 were Iraq (28,677), Pakistan (24,594), Turkey (23,737) and Bangladesh (19,990). For all four groups, the numbers were higher than in 2020.

Nigerians, Moroccans and people from East, West and North Africa also applied in substantially higher numbers.

On the European continent, there were more than 3,800 applications from Belarusians, triple the number in 2020. Applications by nationals of North Macedonia increased fourfold, and there were 6,327 asylum applications from Ukrainian nationals.

Unaccompanied minors almost at the level of 2016

There has been a sharp rise in the number of unaccompanied minors claiming asylum.

In 2021, European countries received 27,300 applications by unaccompanied minors, far more than in any of the previous three years and almost as many as in 2016 (29,300).

About 13,000 of all unaccompanied minors – nearly half of the total – were Afghans, followed by Syrians, Somalis, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis.

Positive decisions increase

Around 35% of first instance decisions in 2021 granted a form of protection, with 117,500 granted refugee status and 63,000 receiving subsidiary protection. This was the highest average recognition rate since 2017, due to the applications from Afghans. The recognition rate for Afghans rose substantially from 53% in 2020 to 66% in 2021 and in October and November 2021 it was over 90%.

Other groups with high recognition rates were Eritreans (81%), Yemenis (79%), Belarusians (75%) and Syrians (72%).

Also read: More Afghans seeking asylum in the European Union

Record applications from Bangladeshis, most rejected

In 2021, Bangladeshis lodged around 20,000 applications for asylum in the EU. This was the highest number on record for Bangladesh nationals, making them the sixth-largest group of asylum applicants in the EU. Applications from unaccompanied minors from Bangladesh also reached the highest on record with about 1,400 in 2021. The recognition rate for Bangladesh nationals in the EU overall remains very low, at 4%. Of the few positive decisions, three quarters were granted refugee status, and the remainder received subsidiary protection.

Also read: Germany repatriates over a hundred irregular migrants to Bangladesh

*Correction: The earlier version of this article mistakenly included Liechtenstein and Iceland in the EU+ countries, while omitting Switzerland.