Conflicts in Afghanistan and Somalia fuel increase in asylum seekers
GENEVA - The number of asylum seekers in industrialised countries
increased last year for the second year running, according to
provisional statistics compiled by the UN refugee agency. The increase
can partly be attributed to higher numbers of asylum applications by
citizens of Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries experiencing
turmoil or conflict. Although the number of Iraqi asylum seekers
declined by 10 percent in 2008, Iraqis continued to be the largest
nationality seeking asylum in the industrialised world.
Some 383,000 new asylum applications were submitted last year in 51
industrialised countries, a 12 percent rise compared to 2007, when there were some 341,000 applications. This is the second consecutive annual increase in the number of asylum seekers since 2006, when the lowest number of asylum applications in 20 years was registered (307,000).
The top country of origin of asylum applicants in 2008 was Iraq
(40,500, down 10 percent from 45,100 in 2007), followed by Somalia
(21,800), the Russian Federation (20,500), Afghanistan (18,500) and
China (17,400). Of the 10 main nationalities claiming asylum last year,
some remained stable while others registered significant increases.
Countries of origin recording a significant rise in applications
included Afghanistan (up 85 percent), Zimbabwe (up 82 percent), Somalia
(up 77 percent), Nigeria (up 71 percent) and Sri Lanka (up 24 percent).
All of these countries experienced unrest or conflicts in 2008.
The United States continued to be the main country of destination for
asylum seekers of all nationalities in 2008, with an estimated 49,000
new asylum claims, accounting for 13 percent of all applications in
industrialised countries. Compared to the size of its national
population, however, the United States had only one asylum seeker per
1,000 inhabitants, while the average in the European Union countries was 2.4 asylum seekers per 1,000 inhabitants.
After the United States, the main countries of destination for asylum
seekers in 2008 were Canada (36,900), France (35,200), Italy (31,200)
and the United Kingdom (30,500).
Along with the rise in the overall total of asylum seekers over the
last two years, the number of countries receiving applications has also
increased. In 2004, for example, Iraqis applied for asylum in only seven industrialised countries (excluding countries receiving less than 500 applications), while in 2008 they applied for asylum in 14 countries.
This suggests that people seeking international protection are
searching for it in a larger number of countries, possibly as a result
of the introduction of stricter asylum policies in traditional asylum
states. This was observed in Sweden, where more restrictive asylum
policies led to a 67 percent drop in the number of asylum applications
by Iraqis between 2007 and 2008. During the same period, the number of
Iraqi asylum seekers in neighbouring Norway nearly trebled, and
quadrupled in Finland, according to the latest statistics.
