Numbers of refugees, asylum-seekers increase in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — More than 244,000 people have applied for asylum in Germany last year and more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees who have come to the country looking for shelter from Russia’s war. The German government said Wednesday that the No. 1 country of origin for asylum-seekers was Syria followed by Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq. Ukrainian refugees don’t need to apply for asylum because they immediately received temporary residency status. The number of asylum seekers went up last year by 27.9% compared to 2021. Numbers increased as asylum-seekers tried to reach Germany via the Balkan route especially during the last three months of 2022.