The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) reported that Afghan nationals, with 17,500 applications, were the predominant group of asylum seekers in France for the year 2023.

The agency disclosed that the total number of asylum applications in France for the year reached 142,500.

This data, released by OFPRA on Tuesday, highlights the sixth consecutive year when Afghans have topped the list of asylum applications in France.

Following Afghanistan, nationals from Bangladesh, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Guinea constituted the largest groups of asylum applicants.

The figures indicate a 8.6% rise in asylum applications in France compared to the previous year 2022.

OFPRA also acknowledged the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the movement and resettlement of refugees globally.

In 2023 alone, OFPRA processed 136,700 asylum cases. The office emphasised that the current statistics are preliminary and that the final numbers will be published upon completion of detailed analysis.

In a related development, the German Federal Office reported that over 50,000 Afghan asylum applications were filed in Germany in 2023.