Relative to the population in Germany and Austria, Malta is ranked third out of all EU member states for registering the highest rate of first time asylum seeker applicants during the first quarter of 2016 (January to March).

It was found, according to a Eurostat news release, that Germany was ranked first – 2,155 first time applicants per one million people, Austria came in second – 1619 first time applicants per one million people, followed by Malta with 904 applicants per one million people. Malta is followed by Luxembourg, Sweden, Cyprus and Hungary.

In absolute terms, Germany has received 174,965 first time applicants in the first quarter of 2016, Austria 13,880 and Malta 390.

Overall, the EU registered a decreased in the number of first time asylum seeker applicants between January and March 2016 – down to fewer than 290,000.

With regard to the nationalities of asylum seekers registering in Malta, 50 per cent or 195 people came from Libya, 23 per cent or 90 people came from Syria and 10 per cent, or 40, came from Eritrea.

Overall, 36% of the total number of first time applicants for protection in EU member states hail from Syria, followed by Iraq and Afghanistan which made up 12 per cent of total first time applicants. The majority of such applicants applied for protection in Germany.

It was found that out of EU member states with high levels of asylum seekers, the number of first time applicants in the first quarter of 2016 for the Nordic member states fell dramatically.