Greece is now hosting a total of 62,407 refugees and migrants who are awaiting the results of asylum applications, according to new figures released by the Greek defense ministry.
The largest concentration of people is hosted on the five Aegean islands which have migrant hosting facilities: Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros. A total of 15,222 asylum seekers live there.
The majority of those are on Lesbos with 4,725 people staying at the official state-run facility that has a total capacity for 3,500 and 188 at other centers. The second largest concentration is on Chios which is hosting 3,503 people while its official capacity is 1,100.
Overcrowded facilities, especially on Aegean islands
On Samos, the island's facilities are designed to host 850 people; a total of 2,414 persons are actually staying there. Kos is also overburdened with 1,830 people living in a camp designed for 1,000, with an additional 1,048 people staying elsewhere.
Of the five, only Leros has manageable numbers, with 865 refugees and migrants staying at a camp for 1,000 people, as well as an additional 160 individuals hosted in alternative facilities.
The Greek Defense Ministry's Coordinating Body for the Management of the Refugee Crisis recorded a further 112 new asylum applications, 77 of which were on the island of Lesbos.
On the mainland, according to the data, the vast majority of migrants and refugees are being hosted in Athens with a total of 7,610 individuals recorded. Central Greece is also stretched: facilities are currently home to 3,356 asylum seekers and migrants. Next is Northern Greece with 3,192 and Western Greece with just 150.
Slow progress on citizenship effort
In related developments, just two years after Greece's Syriza-led government passed legislation allowing children who have been born to migrant parents in Greece to obtain Greek citizenship, it is estimated that only half of the 58,000 applications have been approved by the authorities according to a report in the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.
Reports claim that it is red tape delaying procedures possibly for several years. The excessive bureaucracy is seen as the reason for the low rate of citizenship claims. Meanwhile, it is also estimated that thousands of second-generation migrants who are formally eligible for Greek citizenship have failed to submit a claim to the authorities.Greece's citizenship law was passed in June 2015 after the Council of State deemed earlier legislation, also known as the Ragousis law, as unconstitutional.