Statistics on reception & refugee camps in Greece: first half of 2026
Not a single euro in financial allowance for over one and a half years, critical shortages of doctors, psychologists and interpreters, no alternative housing for vulnerable people
The reception system for people seeking asylum in Greece continues to show constant gaps, according to the latest official figures supplied in response to parliamentary questions in August 2026. In the present note, we present and analyse this data, which refers to 30 June 2026.
This analysis builds on RSA’s regular documentation of the operation of the asylum process in Greece, which has consistently highlighted chronic deficiencies and gaps in reception conditions (see for 2025).
The staffing shortages in the camps of the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) and the complete absence of financial allowance for asylum seekers constitute chronic and structural issues that remain unaddressed, at a time when the country is bound by stricter obligations and increased responsibility to host asylum applicants, following the entry into application of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum.
- According to this data, at the end of June 2026, 15,273 people were residing in refugee camps on the islands and the mainland,
- of whom 2,324 were children.
This continues the drop in the population of the reception system (compared to 22,622 people at the end of 2025). Sudan was by far the main country of origin, while a significant part of the population came from Bangladesh and South Sudan.
Chronic and systematic gaps are recorded in reception conditions. The monthly financial allowance has remained in limbo for over one and a half years, since the end of March 2025, with no update or prospect of imminent reinstatement.
The data also confirm ongoing shortages in medical care, mental health and interpretation. A total of 58 doctors and 37 psychologists were deployed across RIS camps as of 30 June 2026. Two camps, Filippiada and Pyrgos, had no doctor at all, while Ritsona, Vagiochori and Katsikas had no general practitioner. None of the camps had a psychiatrist, and six camps had no psychologist at all. The number of interpreters was 179 at the end of June 2026, compared to 168 at the end of 2025, while interpretation services continue to rely exclusively on emergency staff deployment by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).
Lastly, as regards vulnerable people seeking asylum in Greece, encampment remains the only form of housing provided to them, at least three years after the government's announcement of the “Stirixis” programme, which was to restore at least 500 accommodation places in apartments in urban settings for vulnerable asylum seekers. In practice, the reception conditions of these persons do not differ at all from those afforded to the remaining population, despite the state's duty to provide special reception conditions. In the first half of 2026, the RIS identified 8,322 people as vulnerable persons in the framework of reception and identification procedures. At the end of the semester, 4,822 people with an established vulnerability were residing in the camps, almost one third of the total population. Main categories were victims of torture and other forms of violence (3,390), single-parent families (365) and persons with serious illnesses (273). Almost half of the 3,390 identified victims of torture and violence were residing in large camps such as Malakasa, Koutsochero, Ritsona, Leros and Serres, without any financial support and with extremely limited medical and psychological support services.
Detailed statistics and graphs on the reception system are available in the note below.
