Historically low figures: A sharp decline in asylum applications from Syrians to Denmark during 2025... These nationalities are at the forefront of asylum seekers in Denmark...
Denmark witnessed a significant decrease in the number of Syrian asylum seekers during 2025, after many years in which they constituted one of the largest groups of applicants for protection. Only 150 Syrian nationals applied for asylum, compared to 452 applications in 2024. This prompted the Danish Minister of Immigration and Integration to express his happiness and pride in these results, praising the strict immigration policy adopted by Denmark during the past decade.
Unprecedented decline after years of leadership
Data from the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration (Udlændinge- og Integrationsministeriet) and the Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen) showed that Syrians, who topped the asylum statistics in 2024, declined significantly in 2025. The official figures confirmed that the decrease came after a long period in which Syrians were among the nationalities most frequently applying for asylum in the country.
Eritrea and Afghanistan are the top countries of origin for asylum seekers.
The same statistics recorded that Eritrean citizens constituted the largest group of asylum seekers in Denmark during 2025, with 247 applications. The number of asylum seekers from Afghanistan also surpassed that of Syrians, with 192 Afghans submitting applications for protection during the same year.
Suspension of application processing and the impact of political developments
Authorities attributed the sharp decline in Syrian asylum applications to the decision to suspend processing their applications in December 2024. This suspension stemmed from the uncertainty that followed the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad, as explained by the Ministry of Migration and Integration. Application processing did not resume until the summer of 2025.
Voluntary return to Syria in record numbers
The ministry also stated in previous statements that a record number of Syrian refugees left Denmark voluntarily to return to Syria during the first nine months of 2025. According to official data, 413 people benefited by the end of September from the voluntary return program, known as the repatrieringsordning program, which allows those leaving to receive financial support in exchange for leaving Denmark.
Total asylum applications at their lowest level in decades
The total number of asylum applications submitted in Denmark during 2025 was approximately 1,959. This figure, excluding 2020, is the lowest since current statistics began being recorded in 1998, according to the Ministry of Immigration and Integration and the Danish Immigration Service.
A limited number of asylum approvals
The number of asylum permits granted last year ended at just 875, the fourth time since 1983 that Denmark has granted asylum to fewer than 1,000 people in a single year, according to official figures.
Government: Tough policy pays off
Danish Minister for Immigration and Integration Rasmus Stoklund, of the Social Democratic Party (S), considered these figures a reflection of the success of the government's strict immigration policy. In a press statement, he said that the decrease in the number of refugees forms a fundamental basis for the country's ability to absorb and integrate newcomers into Danish society.
These developments coincided with a decline in activities related to the Syrian community in Denmark, after the Syrian Association in Denmark (Syrisk Forening i Danmark) had organized a demonstration in the municipal square in the capital, Copenhagen (Rådhuspladsen), on December 8, 2024, on the occasion of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
