Overview
- The UK logged 108,000 asylum applications in 2024, a record high and a 28% rise from 2023, according to OECD data.
- Germany received roughly 230,000 applications in 2024, down by nearly 100,000 year over year, with declines also recorded in France.
- OECD data show about 44,000 unauthorised entry attempts into the UK in 2024, largely via English Channel crossings.
- Pakistanis formed the largest cohort of UK asylum applicants last year with over 10,000 claims, with Afghans and Iranians each exceeding 8,000.
- Pressure on the government is intensifying as media report Border Force strike plans and more than 35,000 Channel crossings so far in 2025, up about 25% on the same period last year.