The Scale of the Migrant Crisis, From 160 to Millions

By GREGOR AISCH, SARAH ALMUKHTAR, JOSH KELLER and WILSON ANDREWS 

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

 

This photo shows about 160 migrants in southern Hungary waiting to board a bus to a registration center on Sept. 9. They will be excluded from the only two relocation plans approved by European leaders so far. The plans will relocate a total of 160,000 people in Greece and Italy to other countries in Europe.

The plans add up to the largest agreement ever to distribute asylum seekers among member states. But they address only a small fraction of the expected total.

Almost 549,000 migrants have arrived in Greece, Italy and Hungary alone this year, often by boat. Many want to move on to Germany or Sweden, which have stronger job markets and more benefits for refugees.

Migrants can apply for asylum in order to receive legal protection and residence. So far this year, at least 794,000 people have applied for asylum in European countries.

The number of asylum seekers is projected to grow rapidly. Just six countries – Germany, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland – expect to receive a total of 1.3 million asylum applications by the end of the year.

The situation in Europe is only a smaller piece of the overall crisis. Countries in the Middle East that border Syria or Iraq, where conflict has displaced millions over several years, have accepted many more refugees than Europe. Asylum seekers in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are expected to increase by almost a million in 2015, reaching 4.7 million by December.

 

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