Federal agencies received a total of 928,316 FOIA requests in FY 2022, according to data now available on FOIA.gov, shattering the previous high of 863,729 requests in FY 2018. Although agencies processed a record-breaking number of requests, as well (878,363), the request backlog grew from 153,227 to 206,719—a 34 percent increase.

Some additional data of note:

• Appeal backlog stood at 4,709, a slight decrease from 4.734 in FY 2021

• Total processing costs were $543.7 million, up from $522.8 million in FY 2021

• Total litigation costs were $40.9 million, up from $38.5 million in FY 2021

• Total processing fees collected from requesters were $2.19 milion, up from $2.09 million in FY 2021.

• DHS received the most requests (539,807), followed by DOJ (93,370), and DOD (54,004).