Even during a pandemic year, the number of Albanians seeking asylum in the European Union ranks second in relation to population in the world. According to the latest data from the European Asylum Aid Office (EASO), 6,600 applications and renewed applications by Albanian citizens were made in the member states of the European Union in 20220. Although these figures suggest that the number of applications due to the pandemic has decreased by 70% compared to 2019, Albania remains one of the largest exporters of asylum seekers in the EU in terms of population only to Syria. According to EASO, Albania had 2,300 applications per 1 million people while Syria had 4,000 applications per 1 million people, followed by Algeria with 1,858 applications per 1 million people and Afghanistan with 1,277 applications per 1 million people. From the Western Balkans, Kosovo ranked fifth in the world for asylum seekers in relation to population.
In April and May 2020, when most of the EU countries were severely closed, Albanian citizens sent 146 and 90 asylum applications, respectively. In the following months, this number rose significantly, particularly in September and October, with over 600 applications. Compared to the Western Balkans, Albania remains the country with the highest number of asylum seekers. In 2020, Serbia had 2,600 asylum seekers, in Kosovo 2,100, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,300, in North Macedonia 1,230 and in Montenegro 207.
Comments are closed.