UN refugee agency says the number of people seeking asylum in the West dropped by five per cent last year, The agency said Monday that 358,800 people applied for asylum in the EU and 17 other countries that it surveyed in 2010.
At the peak, in 2001, almost 620,000 people applied for asylum.
Despite the overall fall, the United States — which receives one of every six applications — still saw an increase of 6,500 applications in 2010 partly due to a rise in the number of Chinese and Mexicans applying.
France, Germany, Sweden and Canada had the next highest numbers of new applications.
The largest groups of people seeking political protection last year were from Serbia and Kosovo.
The report deals with new asylum claims and does not show how many individuals were actually granted refugee status.
At the peak, in 2001, almost 620,000 people applied for asylum.
Despite the overall fall, the United States — which receives one of every six applications — still saw an increase of 6,500 applications in 2010 partly due to a rise in the number of Chinese and Mexicans applying.
France, Germany, Sweden and Canada had the next highest numbers of new applications.
The largest groups of people seeking political protection last year were from Serbia and Kosovo.
The report deals with new asylum claims and does not show how many individuals were actually granted refugee status.
No comments:
Post a Comment