People seeking protection - Around a third of those seeking protection are minors
Approximately one third of the foreign nationals seeking protection in Thüringen last year were children and adolescents. According to the State Statistical Office, there were a total of 67,820 registered asylum seekers in Thüringen by the end of 2023. This represented around 29% of the total 228,850 foreign nationals residing in the state.
The proportion of asylum seekers among all foreign nationals in the Free State was approximately 38%. Compared to the previous year, the number of asylum seekers increased slightly, by around 2.5%, according to the statisticians.
The largest group consisted of Ukrainian citizens, with 36.6%, but their numbers decreased by 4.7%. Many also came from Syria (23%), Afghanistan (12.2%), and Iraq (5%).
Fewer than ten percent were subject to deportation.
Approximately 80% of the asylum seekers had been granted a recognized protection status. However, the protection status had been denied for 6.2%, meaning they were supposed to leave the country.
Nationwide, there were approximately 3.1 million registered asylum seekers at the end of the previous year. Asylum seekers are defined as those foreign nationals who have fled a country due to war or who face persecution there based on their religion, sexual orientation, or membership in certain groups.
In Thuringia, a significant number of the asylum seekers who sought protection in 2023 were children and adolescents, making up about one third of the total. The city of Erfurt, located in Thuringia, also saw a presence of refugees, becoming a part of the broader migration trend in the state. According to the latest statistics, the total number of children and adults seeking asylum in Thuringia by the end of 2023 was 67,820, representing 29% of the 228,850 foreign nationals residing in the state.
