Belgium
Asylum applications, returns and — where the figure exists — sea arrivals.
Ranked 7 of 27 countries by first-time asylum applications in the period
January–July 2026 · Eurostat
2025 · Eurostat
No source measures it for this country
Belgium: first-time asylum applications by month
People lodging their first asylum application in the country, by month.
These are first-time applications: repeat applications are excluded, because the total includes them and inflates the figures against the way they are usually quoted.
View the data as a table
| Period | people |
|---|---|
| 2023-10 | 3,125 |
| 2023-11 | 2,735 |
| 2023-12 | 2,720 |
| 2024-01 | 2,595 |
| 2024-02 | 2,215 |
| 2024-03 | 2,175 |
| 2024-04 | 2,560 |
| 2024-05 | 2,625 |
| 2024-06 | 2,190 |
| 2024-07 | 2,905 |
| 2024-08 | 2,810 |
| 2024-09 | 3,130 |
| 2024-10 | 3,640 |
| 2024-11 | 2,835 |
| 2024-12 | 3,035 |
| 2025-01 | 2,835 |
| 2025-02 | 2,435 |
| 2025-03 | 2,010 |
| 2025-04 | 2,280 |
| 2025-05 | 2,080 |
| 2025-06 | 2,460 |
| 2025-07 | 2,630 |
| 2025-08 | 2,405 |
| 2025-09 | 2,360 |
| 2025-10 | 2,285 |
| 2025-11 | 1,720 |
| 2025-12 | 2,050 |
| 2026-01 | 1,815 |
| 2026-02 | 1,515 |
| 2026-03 | 1,510 |
| 2026-04 | 1,605 |
| 2026-05 | 1,365 |
| 2026-06 | 1,640 |
| 2026-07 | 1,580 |
| 2026-08 | 1,735 |
| 2026-09 | 1,650 |
Belgium: where asylum seekers come from
2023–2026, full years; 2026 covers January–July · Eurostat
January–July 2026 · Eurostat
January–July 2025 · Eurostat
January–July 2024 · Eurostat
January–July 2023 · Eurostat
Palestinian Territories12,01012%—
Syria10,62511%—
Afghanistan7,8858%—
Eritrea7,6758%—
Türkiye7,3607%—
Congo - Kinshasa5,4505%—
Burundi3,9304%—
Cameroon3,6854%—
Guinea3,6754%—
Somalia2,1402%—- Another 95 citizenships35,40035%
Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 99,835, while the published total is 100,605.
- Afghanistan1,09010%-23%
- Palestinian Territories9208%-48%
- Türkiye8608%-26%
- Congo - Kinshasa7707%-40%
- Burundi6706%-21%
- Eritrea6556%-60%
- Cameroon4454%-31%
- Guinea4404%-37%
- Syria2803%-70%
Yemen2552%+46%- Another 66 citizenships4,49041%
Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 10,875, while the published total is 11,030.
- Palestinian Territories1,78011%-35%
- Eritrea1,65510%+34%
- Afghanistan1,4108%+60%
- Congo - Kinshasa1,2908%+83%
- Türkiye1,1557%+17%
- Syria9306%-64%
- Burundi8455%+56%
- Guinea6954%+24%
- Cameroon6454%+16%
Angola3552%+137%- Another 78 citizenships5,87035%
Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 16,630, while the published total is 16,730.
- Palestinian Territories2,72016%+75%
- Syria2,58515%+54%
- Eritrea1,2357%+5%
- Türkiye9856%-2%
- Afghanistan8805%-42%
- Congo - Kinshasa7054%+31%
- Guinea5603%+4%
- Cameroon5553%+16%
- Burundi5403%+40%
Georgia4202%+27%- Another 76 citizenships5,93535%
Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 17,120, while the published total is 17,265.
- Syria1,67511%—
- Palestinian Territories1,55511%—
- Afghanistan1,53010%—
- Eritrea1,1808%—
- Türkiye1,0057%—
- Guinea5404%—
- Congo - Kinshasa5404%—
- Cameroon4803%—
- Somalia4003%—
Russia4003%—- Another 72 citizenships5,42037%
Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 14,725, while the published total is 14,845.
First-time asylum applications broken down by the citizenship of the people who lodge them. It is the same figure as the chart above seen from the other side: not which country they apply in, but which country they come from.
The bar is measured against the first in the ranking, not against the total: it shows how far the first is from the last. The percentage next to the number is the share of the published citizenships added together, which is not the country’s total: the note below the chart says by how much they differ. The change compares the same months of the previous year, and stays a dash below one hundred applications, where a percentage would say more than the data knows. “Total” adds up whole years and leaves a dash in the change column, because a total has no “previous year”.
View the data as a table
| Citizenship | First-time applications |
|---|---|
| Palestinian Territories | 12,010 |
| Syria | 10,625 |
| Afghanistan | 7,885 |
| Eritrea | 7,675 |
| Türkiye | 7,360 |
| Congo - Kinshasa | 5,450 |
| Burundi | 3,930 |
| Cameroon | 3,685 |
| Guinea | 3,675 |
| Somalia | 2,140 |
| Another 95 citizenships | 35,400 |
| Citizenship | First-time applications |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 1,090 |
| Palestinian Territories | 920 |
| Türkiye | 860 |
| Congo - Kinshasa | 770 |
| Burundi | 670 |
| Eritrea | 655 |
| Cameroon | 445 |
| Guinea | 440 |
| Syria | 280 |
| Yemen | 255 |
| Another 66 citizenships | 4,490 |
| Citizenship | First-time applications |
|---|---|
| Palestinian Territories | 1,780 |
| Eritrea | 1,655 |
| Afghanistan | 1,410 |
| Congo - Kinshasa | 1,290 |
| Türkiye | 1,155 |
| Syria | 930 |
| Burundi | 845 |
| Guinea | 695 |
| Cameroon | 645 |
| Angola | 355 |
| Another 78 citizenships | 5,870 |
| Citizenship | First-time applications |
|---|---|
| Palestinian Territories | 2,720 |
| Syria | 2,585 |
| Eritrea | 1,235 |
| Türkiye | 985 |
| Afghanistan | 880 |
| Congo - Kinshasa | 705 |
| Guinea | 560 |
| Cameroon | 555 |
| Burundi | 540 |
| Georgia | 420 |
| Another 76 citizenships | 5,935 |
| Citizenship | First-time applications |
|---|---|
| Syria | 1,675 |
| Palestinian Territories | 1,555 |
| Afghanistan | 1,530 |
| Eritrea | 1,180 |
| Türkiye | 1,005 |
| Guinea | 540 |
| Congo - Kinshasa | 540 |
| Cameroon | 480 |
| Somalia | 400 |
| Russia | 400 |
| Another 72 citizenships | 5,420 |
Belgium: return orders issued and returns carried out
Return orders issued by the authorities and returns actually carried out, by year.
The two lines almost never meet. The gap between them is the share of orders that does not turn into a return, and neither figure alone shows it.
View the data as a table
| Period | people |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 5,575 |
| 2015 | 5,835 |
| 2016 | 7,355 |
| 2017 | 6,315 |
| 2018 | 4,940 |
| 2019 | 4,245 |
| 2020 | 2,900 |
| 2021 | 2,890 |
| 2022 | 2,220 |
| 2023 | 2,275 |
| 2024 | 2,915 |
| 2025 | 5,245 |
Belgium: sea arrivals by month
UNHCR does not publish sea arrivals for this country.