The number of asylum applications received by the Maltese government in 2021 dropped by 39% compared with the previous year, fresh figures show as the number of migrants arriving by boat dramatically dropped.
There were 1,517 asylum applications received by the International Protection Agency last year, compared with 2,482 in 2020, National Office of Statistics data reveals.
The figures were released ahead of World Refugee Day on Monday.
Seventeen boats carrying migrants arrived in Malta in 2021 and there were 838 people brought to shore. That's significantly lower than the 2,281 that arrived in the previous year, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that saw migrants detained on tour boats off the coast.
Malta had the third-highest rate per capita of applications for asylum in the European Union, after Cyprus and Austria.
Most applicants (74%) were from African countries. The country with the largest number of applicants was Sudan, which the UN recently said was facing a food crisis because of the compounding effects of climate shocks, political turmoil, and rising global food prices. Some 211 Sudanese people, 14% of the overall total, claimed asylum last year.
Syria had the next highest number of applicants (197), followed by Eritrea (172) and Somalia (146).
Two thirds of applications (67%) were from men aged between 18 and 34.
Majority rejected
The IPA processed 809 applications with 22% being accepted immediately. The others were rejected.
Most of those granted immediate protection status were Eritrean (40%) followed by Syrians (26%) and Libyans (20%).
Compared with other EU states, Malta had the fourth-lowest share of positive first decisions on applications in 2021. A total of 730 appeals on first instance decisions were filed with the IPA Tribunal.
During 2021, which processed 605 appeals, all of which were rejected. At the end of 2021, there were 4,013 pending decisions on applications for asylum, a 30% drop on the previous year.
Drop in open centre numbers
The NSO also said that 829 people were registered residents at open centres at the end of 2021, 53% fewer than in the previous year.
The majority of people registered as residents in open centres were residing in Ħal Far (88%).
During the year under review, 238 persons were relocated from Malta to another EU+ country, while 10 people were resettled to a country outside the EU+ states.
A further 40 persons benefitted from assisted voluntary return programmes and were returned to their country of origin.