Europe’s refugee and asylum seeker population stable, report says
BERLIN:- After more than a decade of growth, asylum applications fell for the second year in a row in 2025, and Europe’s refugee and asylum-seeker population has stabilized, according to a report by the Rockwool Foundation Berlin’s Center for the Research and Analysis of Migration.
The number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the European Union and the UK stood at 9.59 million in 2025, little changed from 9.58 million a year earlier, a sharp reversal from the rapid increase seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The report said refugee applications fell from 10.1 million in 2024 and 1.1 million in 2023 to 770,000 in 2025.
“The period of rapid growth in Europe’s refugee population appears to be over,” said Tommaso Frattini, deputy director of the institute.
Immigration has become a contentious issue in many European countries in recent years, amid a surge in support for far-right and right-wing populist parties.
The stable overall figures masked differences between countries: Germany, Europe’s largest host country, recorded a 4.7% decline in its refugee and asylum-seeker population and Italy saw a 17.9% drop, while France, Spain and the UK recorded increases.
The report said Germany’s decline reflected lower arrivals and naturalisations of earlier refugee groups, particularly Syrians and Iraqis, rather than departures.
Syrians filed more than 70% fewer asylum applications since the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024, while Venezuelan applications rose by 24% to 91,000.
The report notes that Ukrainians account for nearly half of all refugees and asylum seekers in the European Union and the UK.
