Asylum reception, public budgets and COA growth
This chart places official figures for the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France next to each other. They are not fully comparable accounting categories. The common thread is comparable: the money flows are almost entirely public funds, ultimately raised through taxes, contributions and collective budgets.
Reading note: COA and Fedasil are reception agencies. Germany is shown here through Asylbewerberleistungen, mainly statutory benefits and provisions, not all decentralized reception costs. France is spread across budget programmes, operators and emergency housing. This chart is therefore meant as source control and order of magnitude, not as a simple country ranking.
COA: income grows from EUR 0.85 to EUR 3.71 billion
Amounts from the COA annual accounts, converted to million euros.
| Year | Total income | Visual | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 851.6 million EUR | COA: Financial accountability 2025, submitted via the Dutch Senate | |
| 2022 | 1,577.7 million EUR | COA: Financial accountability 2025, submitted via the Dutch Senate | |
| 2023 | 2,703.3 million EUR | COA: Financial accountability 2025, submitted via the Dutch Senate | |
| 2024 | 3,538.5 million EUR | COA: Financial accountability 2025, submitted via the Dutch Senate | |
| 2025 | 3,712.2 million EUR | COA: Financial accountability 2025, submitted via the Dutch Senate |
COA 2025: where the EUR 3.712 billion went
The largest item is material expenditure: locations, facilities, contracts and other implementation costs. These too are public expenses.
| Cost item | Amount | Share | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff and overhead | 860.1 million EUR | 23.2% | |
| Material expenditure | 2,317.5 million EUR | 62.4% | |
| Depreciation | 130.1 million EUR | 3.5% | |
| Health care | 357.9 million EUR | 9.6% | |
| Programme scheme costs | 59.7 million EUR | 1.6% | |
| Financing costs (-income) | -13.1 million EUR | -0.4% |
COA: occupancy and staff
Higher occupancy and longer stays translate into locations, staff and implementation costs.
| Year | Average occupancy | End-year occupancy | FTE | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 55,600 | 64,326 | 6,214 | 6,845 |
| 2024 | 68,868 | 71,790 | 7,450 | 8,165 |
| 2025 | 73,991 | 79,137 | 7,973 | 8,697 |
Fedasil: federal grant 2015-2024
Belgium shows the same direction: the federal grant in 2024 is more than three times the 2015 level.
| Year | Federal grant | Visual | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 296.4 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2016 | 579.1 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2017 | 397.8 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2018 | 261.8 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2019 | 410.7 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2020 | 537.1 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2021 | 530.8 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2022 | 702.1 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2023 | 838.1 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 | |
| 2024 | 929.4 million EUR | Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024 |
Germany: Asylbewerberleistungen 2015-2024
Germany has no exact COA equivalent; this series shows official gross expenditure under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz.
| Year | Gross expenditure | Visual | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,294.8 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2016 | 9,415.8 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2017 | 5,901.4 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2018 | 4,866.7 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2019 | 4,402.9 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2020 | 4,194.6 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2021 | 4,266.8 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2022 | 6,479.8 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2023 | 6,290.1 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 | |
| 2024 | 6,718.5 million EUR | Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024 |
Do not lump together: European order of magnitude
These four lines show order of magnitude, but not the same accounting category. The footnote is part of the conclusion.
| Country | System | Year | Indicator | Amount | Footnote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | COA | 2025 | Organisation expenditure/income | 3,712.2 million EUR | COA itself; income and expenses are equal. |
| Belgium | Fedasil | 2024 | Reception-agency income | 946.3 million EUR | Fedasil, excluding pass-through receipts. |
| Germany | Asylbewerberleistungen | 2024 | Gross benefit expenditure | 6,718.5 million EUR | Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz; decentralized reception costs are broader. |
| France | Asylum policy | 2025 | Minimum asylum-policy costs | 1,850.0 million EUR | Senate report cites at least EUR 1.85 billion. |
France: fragmented asylum costs
The French Senate points out that the costs do not sit in a single counter and that some medical, social, school and police costs are not fully included in the narrow asylum figure.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum asylum-policy costs | 1,850.0 | million EUR | Senate: information report on the cost of asylum policy |
| Guarantee of the right to asylum | 1,400.0 | million EUR | Senate: 2025 execution, Immigration, asylum and integration mission |
| Allocation for asylum seekers, executed | 315.0 | million EUR | Senate: 2025 execution, Immigration, asylum and integration mission |
| Reception rate | 72.0 | percent | Senate: 2025 execution, Immigration, asylum and integration mission |
| Additional emergency housing | 242.0 | million EUR | Senate: information report on the cost of asylum policy |
Sources
- COA: Financial accountability 2025, submitted via the Dutch Senate
- Dutch House of Representatives: Annual Report on Asylum and Migration 2025
- Official publications: 2015 Security and Justice annual report, COA contribution
- Official publications: 2016 parliamentary paper on COA staff and contraction
- Fedasil: 2024 budget and federal grant 2015-2024
- Fedasil: reception figures for 2025
- Destatis: Asylum seeker benefits, expenditure and recipients 2024
- Destatis: gross expenditure, income and net expenditure by state 2024
- Destatis: asylum seeker benefits time series 2015-2024
- Bundestag: 2025 budget, BMI/BAMF and integration/migration
- Senate: 2025 execution, Immigration, asylum and integration mission
- Senate: information report on the cost of asylum policy
- Senate: 2025 finance bill, immigration and integration
Composition and rounding: MOZOM. All amounts are rounded to million euros. Last prepared locally on 1 August 2026.