Number of asylum seekers in Denmark 2021, by country of origin

In 2021, the highest number of asylum seekers in Denmark came from Afghanistan. That year, more than 550 people from Afghanistan applied for asylum in the country. Next to Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria were the two most common countries of origin for asylum applicants in Denmark in 2021.

Fewer asylum applications

In 2021, Denmark received 2,100 asylum applications. After peaking in 2015 in the aftermath of the influx of refugees to Europe that year, the number of asylum applicants arriving in Denmark ahs decreased. This is a result of external factors such as tighter control at the borders of the EU, that the war in Syria has moved into a new phase, and COVID-19, but also the internal factor of stricter asylum laws implemented by the government. These tightened immigration laws have resulted in both fewer asylum requests and fewer grants of asylum.

Sweden: a different picture

In the neighboring country Sweden, a significantly higher number of people applied for asylum. Until 2016, Sweden had one of the most generous asylum laws in the European Union. Like Denmark, however, Sweden sharpened its asylum laws in the wake of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015. Yet over 11,000 people applied for asylum in Sweden in 2021, a number more than four times higher than in Denmark. In a similar fashion, the number of asylums granted also declined significantly during this period.