Malta

Asylum applications, returns and — where the figure exists — sea arrivals.

Ranked 24 of 27 countries by first-time asylum applications in the period

First-time asylum applications210↓ -7%

January–July 2026 · Eurostat

Returns carried out1,065

2025 · Eurostat

Sea arrivalsnot recorded

No source measures it for this country

Malta: first-time asylum applications by month

020406080GMMLSN202630202520202420020406080GFMAMGLASOND202630202520202420
What it shows

People lodging their first asylum application in the country, by month.

How to read it

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.

Source: Eurostat·Figures as of 31 August 2026·Download CSV
View the data as a table
Malta: first-time asylum applications by month
Periodpeople
2023-0970
2023-1095
2023-1145
2023-1230
2024-0140
2024-0280
2024-0345
2024-0440
2024-0525
2024-0625
2024-0725
2024-0830
2024-0930
2024-1045
2024-1140
2024-1220
2025-0155
2025-0235
2025-0315
2025-0440
2025-0515
2025-0630
2025-0735
2025-0825
2025-0920
2025-1060
2025-1150
2025-1220
2026-0125
2026-0215
2026-0320
2026-0430
2026-0520
2026-0645
2026-0755
2026-0830

Malta: where asylum seekers come from

Year

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

  1. Syria47039%—
  2. Bangladesh18015%—
  3. Colombia958%—
  4. Libya807%—
  5. Ukraine555%—
  6. Somalia454%—
  7. Sudan302%—
  8. Guinea302%—
  9. Pakistan302%—
  10. Egypt252%—
  11. Another 20 citizenships18015%

Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 1,220, while the published total is 1,550.

  1. Syria4529%—
  2. Somalia3523%—
  3. Eritrea2013%—
  4. Libya1510%—
  5. Iraq106%—
  6. Iran53%—
  7. Ukraine53%—
  8. Bangladesh53%—
  9. Colombia53%—
  10. Côte d’Ivoire53%—
  11. Another 1 citizenships53%

Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 155, while the published total is 210.

  1. Syria6538%-46%
  2. Bangladesh2012%—
  3. Libya159%—
  4. Sudan106%—
  5. Palestinian Territories106%—
  6. Colombia106%—
  7. Pakistan53%—
  8. Iran53%—
  9. Morocco53%—
  10. Ukraine53%—
  11. Another 4 citizenships2012%

Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 170, while the published total is 225.

  1. Syria12055%—
  2. Pakistan157%—
  3. Bangladesh157%—
  4. Colombia157%—
  5. Palestinian Territories105%—
  6. Ukraine52%—
  7. China52%—
  8. Libya52%—
  9. Ethiopia52%—
  10. Nigeria52%—
  11. Another 4 citizenships209%

Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 220, while the published total is 280.

  1. Bangladesh6032%—
  2. Syria5027%—
  3. Libya2011%—
  4. Ukraine158%—
  5. Colombia158%—
  6. Egypt105%—
  7. Sudan53%—
  8. Somalia53%—
  9. Georgia53%—

Eurostat rounds every figure to multiples of five so that the people behind the smallest numbers cannot be identified: the citizenships add up to 185, while the published total is 245.

What it shows

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.

How to read it

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
Malta: where asylum seekers come from — 2023–2026, full years; 2026 covers January–July · Eurostat
CitizenshipFirst-time applications
Syria470
Bangladesh180
Colombia95
Libya80
Ukraine55
Somalia45
Sudan30
Guinea30
Pakistan30
Egypt25
Another 20 citizenships180
Malta: where asylum seekers come from — January–July 2026 · Eurostat
CitizenshipFirst-time applications
Syria45
Somalia35
Eritrea20
Libya15
Iraq10
Iran5
Ukraine5
Bangladesh5
Colombia5
Côte d’Ivoire5
Another 1 citizenships5
Malta: where asylum seekers come from — January–July 2025 · Eurostat
CitizenshipFirst-time applications
Syria65
Bangladesh20
Libya15
Sudan10
Palestinian Territories10
Colombia10
Pakistan5
Iran5
Morocco5
Ukraine5
Another 4 citizenships20
Malta: where asylum seekers come from — January–July 2024 · Eurostat
CitizenshipFirst-time applications
Syria120
Pakistan15
Bangladesh15
Colombia15
Palestinian Territories10
Ukraine5
China5
Libya5
Ethiopia5
Nigeria5
Another 4 citizenships20
Malta: where asylum seekers come from — January–July 2023 · Eurostat
CitizenshipFirst-time applications
Bangladesh60
Syria50
Libya20
Ukraine15
Colombia15
Egypt10
Sudan5
Somalia5
Georgia5

Malta: return orders issued and returns carried out

03757501,1251,500201420162018202020222024Orders issued1,090Returns carried out1,06503757501,1251,500201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025Orders issued1,090Returns carried out1,065
What it shows

Return orders issued by the authorities and returns actually carried out, by year.

How to read it

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.

Source: Eurostat·Figures as of 31 December 2025·Download CSV
View the data as a table
Malta: return orders issued and returns carried out
Periodpeople
2014495
2015465
2016420
2017475
2018530
2019600
2020380
2021710
2022670
2023920
2024820
20251,065

Malta: sea arrivals by month

UNHCR does not publish sea arrivals for this country.

The other countries