Number of asylum seekers in Denmark 2019, by country of origin

Most asylum seekers in Denmark came from Syria and Eritrea. In 2019, 493 Syrians and 486 Eritreans applied for asylum in the country. Besides these two countries, 166 asylum seekers originated from Somalia, while 157 refugees came from Morocco. Within the successful asylum grants in 2014, a considerable number of asylum seekers were stateless, meaning that they were not recognized as citizens of any country.

Fewer asylum applications

In 2019, Denmark received the fewest asylum applications in a decade. The low number of applications was a result of several new policies implemented by the Danish government. These tightened immigration laws resulted in both fewer asylum requests and granted residence permits based on asylum.

Sweden: a different picture

In the neighboring country of Sweden, a significantly higher number of people applied for asylum. Until 2016, Sweden had one of the most generous asylum laws within the European Union. Like Denmark, however, Sweden sharpened its asylum laws in the wake of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015. Yet roughly 22 thousand people applied for asylum in 2019, which was the second-lowest number in 10 years. In a similar fashion, the number of asylum grants also declined substantially during this period.