Some 350,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2023, up 51% in a year

BERLIN (AP) — The number of people applying for asylum in Germany rose to 351,915 in 2023, an increase of 51.1% compared with the year before. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Monday that the largest number of asylum-seekers came from Syria, with 104,561 applications, followed by 62,624 Turkish citizens and 53,582 Afghans. Migration has become a huge political problem for the government and a hot-button topic in Germany as local communities are struggling to house the many newcomers. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who faces enormous pressure from the opposition and elsewhere to halt that trend, has said that “too many are coming.” His government has introduced a number of measures to curb the number of people entering the country.