From January to November 2025, the number of asylum extension applications submitted by Afghan applicants surged by nearly 2,000 percent.

The number of immigrants living in the European Union reached a record high of 64.2 million in 2025, marking an increase of approximately 2.1 million compared to the previous year. This information comes from a report published on Wednesday by the RFBerlin Migration Research and Analysis Centre, which was first covered by Reuters.

Back in 2010, this figure stood at just 40 million, according to the report, which references data from Eurostat and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Germany, with nearly 18 million foreign residents, remains the EU’s leading host country, with 72 percent of these individuals being of working age. Spain experienced the most significant growth, with an increase of 700,000 immigrants, raising the total number of foreigners residing there to 9.5 million.

“Germany continues to be the most important destination for migrants in Europe, both in absolute terms and relative to its population size,” said Tommaso Frattini, one of the report’s authors. Germany hosts the largest number of refugees overall, approximately 2.7 million individuals.

Deutschland an der Spitze – dank Merkels Grenzöffnung.#PATRIOTS https://t.co/Lc0ln47B9J pic.twitter.com/m26HQCxusw

— Harald Vilimsky (@vilimsky) April 23, 2026

A few days ago, NIUS exclusively reported that nearly 50,000 migrants from non-EU countries arrived in Germany through the asylum system and family reunification in the first quarter of 2026. Between January 1 and March 31, approximately 27,000 individuals were granted visas for family reunification, while 22,491 people submitted their first asylum applications. Consequently, there appears to be no immediate prospect of a significant shift in the migration situation.

The study further reveals that migration patterns are unevenly distributed within the EU: Luxembourg, Malta, and Cyprus show particularly high immigration rates relative to their populations.

Asylum applications are concentrated in specific countries: Spain, Italy, France, and Germany collectively account for nearly three-quarters of all applications, as highlighted in the analysis by NIUS.de.