1.2 million sought asylum in Europe in 2016
Friday - March 17, 2017 1:18 pm ,
Category : WORLD
1.2 million sought asylum in Europe in 2016
Strasbourg March 17 (IANS/AKI) A total 1 204 000 people applied for political asylum in Europe last year 53 000 fewer than in 2015 the European Union s statistics agency Eurostat said.
Syrians were the largest group of asylum-seekers (334 800) in 2016 followed by Afghans (183 000) and Iraqis (127 000) Eurostat reported on Thursday.
Most asylum requests (60 per cent) were made in Germany 10 per cent in Italy 6 per cent in France 4 per cent in Greece and 3 per cent in Austria Eurostat said.
Overall asylum requests in Europe last year were almost twice the number made in 2014 (562 700) according to Eurostat.
--IANS/AKI
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