InfoMigrants By InfoMigrants Published on : 2021/02/26 The number of individuals seeking asylum in Austria has risen by roughly 10% in 2020. During the same period, the overall number of people seeking protection in the EU dropped by 31%. The Austrian interior ministry reported that it had received nearly 14,200 applications from asylum seekers during the last year -- the highest number the country has seen since 2017. Senior Austrian interior ministry official Wolfgang Taucher said at a press conference that the numbers had increased because of Austria's geographic location bordering the so-called Balkan route. Taucher said this was in line with the fact that countries in the Balkan region, including Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, had also seen rising numbers.