Portugal is in the 23rd position of the 'ranking' that includes the 27 Member States (with only 131 asylum requests for that portion of the population), ranking just above countries such as the Czech Republic (100), Slovakia (61), Estonia (56) and Hungary (4).
These countries are therefore well below the average for the European bloc, which in 2021 was set at 1,202 asylum requests per million inhabitants.
At the top of the table, with values well above those listed so far, is Cyprus, with a very high 14,728 requirements per million inhabitants. Austria (4,221), Slovenia (2,476), Malta (2,314) and Greece (2,129) follow.
Portugal and Lisbon in particular already have their own substantial clusters of refugees, coming from Portuguese speaking African nations.
By Diogo F. from Lisbon on 22 Jun 2023, 08:43
There is a reason for this: Portugal's low salaries. If someone is applying for asylum, they want it to be in a country with a high standard of living, and good employment prospects. This suggests that asylum seekers are cherry-picking which countries to apply for asylum in, and can conclude that there is always an economic element to refugee status. They might be fleeing persecution, but they still want the choice as to which country welcomes them.
By Billy Bissett from Porto on 22 Jun 2023, 10:29
A lot of refugees are not really refugees. They are people looking for a better life in a richer country. They're economical refugees, because when you're living a country, because your life is at risk, you don't care to where you're going, as long as you escape alive.
By Tony from Other on 22 Jun 2023, 19:57
TONY you are so right!! A true refugee would be just so happy to have fled from a bad situation.
By L from Other on 23 Jun 2023, 13:07
Don’t worry, the EU have fixed the problem, each EU country will be obliged to take and equal share of migrants, if a country refuses the EU will fine that country €20k per migrant. So expect a big influx soon.
It’s very much a planned invasion of Europe with no end in sight.
By JG from Algarve on 25 Jun 2023, 06:13