The 27 EU countries granted asylum or other protected status to 295,800 refugees last year. 27 percent of them were Syrians, 14 percent Afghans and 13 percent Venezuelans.
The total number of asylum applications that were accepted was 6 percent less than in 2018, reports the European statistical office Eurostat.
The number of asylum seekers from Venezuela was almost 40 times higher in 2019 than in 2018. Spain took in 35,300 Venezuelans (94 percent of the total amount in the EU).
Germany granted asylum to most Syrians (56,100 persons or 71 percent) and Afghans (16,200). Three-quarters of the given asylum applications came from Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
Almost half (48 percent) of asylum seekers received recognized refugee status. 28 percent of the cases received so-called subsidiary protection.
This means that the person involved is at serious risk of returning to his home country, for example, a high risk of torture or the death penalty.
A quarter of the applicants were granted asylum on humanitarian grounds, including unaccompanied minors and people belonging to a religious group who are being persecuted in their home countries.