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Ulviyya Poladova

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Greece recorded the highest number of asylum applications per capita among European Union (EU) countries in the first half of this year.

According to Kathimerini, around 23,000 international protection applications were registered in Greece during the first six months of the year.

Calculations show that this amounts to 2,254 applications per 1 million inhabitants. In other words, there was roughly one asylum application for every 444 residents. The average across EU+ countries was around 710 applications per 1 million people.

Greece’s per-capita application rate was therefore more than three times the European average. The country’s position as one of the main entry points along Mediterranean migration routes is considered one of the key factors behind the high figure.

Greece has for years been one of the main destinations for irregular migration and asylum seekers entering the EU. The continued high level of arrivals has again raised questions about the capacity of reception centers, the processing time for applications, border security and the sharing of responsibility among EU member states.

Image: Goran Tomašević / Reuters