Germany remains the number one destination country for asylum seekers to the European Union in 2021, new statistics published Saturday revealed.

The newspapers of the Funke media group compared data from the EU's statistics agency Eurostat which showed Germany received 100,240 asylum applications in the first nine months of the year — a rise of a third compared to the same period in 2020.

Germany leads EU

Germany's share of all asylum claims was 28.4%, compared to 24.3% from January to September last year, and far more than any other EU country.

France saw 73,255 applications, with a 20% share of all EU claims, Spain received 39,755 (11% share) and Italy saw 28,645 (8% share).

At the other end of the table, Hungary saw just 30 applications for asylum in the first nine months of 2021.

The eastern European country, led by right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban, has been one of the most vocal opponents of EU asylum policy.

Migration picks up again

Across the 27-member EU, 355,955 first-time asylum applications were registered in the first nine months of this year, 15% more than in the same period last year.

The statistics show that migrants from Afghanistan and Syria make up the largest groups — together they accounted for a third of all applicants, followed by migrants from Pakistan and Iraq.

Last year, asylum applications dropped 31% across Europe, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic. Germany saw 28% fewer applications.

However, the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and the crisis at the Belarus-EU border has sparked concerns about how Europe will handle a new wave of migrants and refugees.

Despite the rebound in migration, it is unlikely that the 2019 total of 612,000 asylum applications will be exceeded by the end of the year.

Best chance of success in Germany

The Eurostat data also revealed that those applying in Germany had a far higher chance of being accepted.

In the three months to September, more than half (16,200 out of 29,970) of the applications to German authorities were approved.

In France, less than a third were successful (9,425 out of 33,325).

mm/aw (AFP, EPD, KNA)