EU migration: Crisis in graphics

Image copyrightAP/Reu/EPA

Asylum applications in Europe have surged this year - with numbers for Germany and Hungary already exceeding their totals for 2014. Altogether, 438,000 refugees had applied for asylum by the end of July - compared with 571,000 for the whole of last year.

According to figures from the UNHCR, Germany continues to be the most popular destination for migrants arriving in Europe. It has received the highest number of asylum applications, with more than 188,000 by the end of July 2015 - 15,416 more than in the whole of 2014.

But Hungary has moved into second place, as more migrants have tried to make the journey overland through Greece and the Western Balkans.

Although Germany had the highest number of asylum applications, Sweden tops the list when the data is viewed per 1,000 of the local population with a rate of almost 8 applications per 1,000.

The UK has a rate of 0.5 per 1,000 - one asylum application for every 2,000 residents.

Where do the migrants come from?

The conflict in Syria continues to be the by far the biggest driver of the migration. But the ongoing violence in Afghanistan, abuses in Eritrea, as well as poverty in Kosovo are also leading people to look for new lives elsewhere.

The EU is due to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels later this month - it has so far failed to agree on how to deal with the crisis. A proposal for quotas on the distribution of refugees has been rejected and tensions have been rising because of the disproportionate burden faced by some countries.

The UK has opted out of any plans for a quota system and, according to Home Office figures, has accepted 216 Syrian refugees under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme since it began in January 2014.

Hungary has built a 175km (110-mile) fence along its border with Serbia, to try to slow the flow of asylum seekers into northern Europe.

Under the EU law known as the Dublin regulation, refugees should apply for asylum in the country in which they arrive and are first registered. But as the numbers have increased, the rules have been ignored and many migrants have been allowed through borders.

Although huge numbers have been applying for asylum, the figures do not tell the whole story.

The number of people being given asylum is far lower. In 2014, EU countries offered asylum to 184,665 refugees. In the same year, more than 570,000 migrants applied for asylum - although applying for asylum can be a lengthy procedure so many of those given refugee status may have applied in previous years.

There were more than 25,000 asylum applications in the UK in the 12 months up to June 2015. Most applications are typically rejected and in 2014, more than 60% of initial decisions on asylum applications were refusals.

In the same period, 6,788 asylum seekers and their dependents were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK.

How do migrants get to Europe?

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 350,000 migrants were detected at the EU's borders between January and August 2015, compared with 280,000 detections for the whole of 2014. The figures do not include those who got in undetected.

The EU's external border force, Frontex, monitors the different routes migrants use and numbers arriving at Europe's borders.

The eastern Mediterranean route has overtaken the central route as the most commonly used this year - with Syrians forming by far the largest migrant group.

The 350,000 total detected so far this year at the EU's borders includes almost 235,000 who arrived in Greece and nearly 115,000 in Italy. About 2,100 arrived in Spain.

Most of those heading for Greece take the relatively short voyage from Turkey to the islands of Kos, Chios, Lesvos and Samos - often in flimsy rubber dinghies or small wooden boats.

Migrant deaths

The voyage from Libya to Italy is longer and more hazardous. According to the IOM, more than 2,500 migrants are reported to have died trying to make the crossing this year - altogether, 2,643 people have died in the Mediterranean in 2015.

The summer months are usually when most fatalities occur as it is the busiest time for migrants attempting to reach Europe.

But so far this year the deadliest month for migrants was April, which saw a boat carrying about 800 migrants capsize in the sea off Libya. Overcrowding is thought to have been one of the reasons for the disaster.