More asylum seekers in 2018

In 2018, 20.5 thousand asylum seekers and 6.5 thousand following family members came to the Netherlands. The number of first asylum requests was one-quarter up on 2017, while the number of following family members declined by half.

The nationality mix of asylum seekers is showing a number of striking developments. Since 2016, there have been several emerging countries of origin, including Yemen and Moldova. Yemen has had a civil war going on for years and famine is looming. The rising number of Moldovans is possibly related to the political situation in the Transnistria region.
Another striking trend is the sustained increase in the number of asylum seekers from Turkey. Since the failed coup in July 2016, more Turkish asylum seekers have travelled to the Netherlands. In addition, the number of asylum seekers from Nigeria and Iran has increased. The number of Albanian asylum seekers dropped in 2017 after a peak in 2016 but rose again slightly in 2018. There is still a relatively high number of Syrian asylum seekers. At the same time, the number of asylum seekers from Iraq and Eritrea has shown a decrease.

More Turkish asylum seekers in Europe

By far the greatest majority of asylum requests in Europa last year were filed in Germany followed by France, Greece, Spain and Italy. The top ten of host countries is completed by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland. In 2017, Italy was still the second largest host country for asylum seekers in 2017.
All over Europe, the number of Turkish asylum seekers has been on the rise. Germany, Greece, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland all received asylum request from Turkish citizens last year. Over the past two years, there have been more applicants from Yemen and Moldova in Europe as well.