In 2015, EU+ countries recorded 1 349 638 asylum applications. This is more than twice the level recorded in 2014 and the highest annual number of asylum applications in the EU+ since EU-wide data collection started in 2008. Several factors have influenced this record number of applications, however the dominant dynamic was the deterioration of the security environment in some of the main countries of origin. https://easo.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/LatestAsylumTrends2015.pdf