While the absolute number of applications during the month remains small by European standards at just 90, the data on first-time asylum applications shows an increase of 50% on the month – proportionally the largest increase across the whole of the European Union.
In both March and April there were 60 such applications, while back in February there were only 20. Despite the rise, it remains well below the figure of 335 applications received in October 2023.
In May 2024 Lithuania received just 25 first-time applications, while Estonia received 125.
The EU total of first-time asylum applicants was 17.1 per hundred thousand people. Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2024), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Ireland (37.4), followed by Greece (33.2), Spain (31.7) and Cyprus (29.9). By this measure, Latvia's number is fairly low at just under 5 applicants per 100,000 population.
