EU countries in 2016 granted refugee status to 700,000

Edited: APC    | Photo: AP

BRUSSELS April 29 – Last year, EU member states approved refugee status or some other form of protection to more than 700,000 people, mostly Syrians, the Eurostat Statistics Agency said in a statement.

This is more than double compared to 2015.

According to reports, 28 union members last year provided protection for 710,400 people who applied for asylum.

Eurostat says it is about 405,600 Syrians, 65,800 from Iraw and 61,800 Afghans

Germany has provided protection to more than 70 percent of Syrians, while Sweden has received nearly 45,000.