There was a 145 percent increase in the number of asylum applications filed by Turkish nationals in EU countries in 2022, with 49,720 Turks seeking shelter in Europe that year, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing latest data from Eurostat.
In 2021, 20,315 Turkish citizens sought asylum in EU countries.
Last year around half of asylum applications, 23,940, from Turks were filed in Germany, while 10,005 were filed in France, followed by Switzerland and the Netherlands.
In 2022, 881,220 first-time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the EU, up by 64 percent compared to 2021.
This number is the highest since the peaks of 2015 and 2016 related to the war in Syria. In 2016 the number levelled off at around 1.2 million and fell significantly until 2018.
Thousands of people have fled Turkey due to a massive witch-hunt carried out by the Turkish government since a coup attempt in July 2016. Many have tried to flee illegally as the government had canceled the passports of thousands of people.