Afghans, Iraqis, Somalis and Nigerians are top on the list of asylum seekers, according to the 2009 chart released by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Also top on the chart are people from Russia, China and Serbia.
According to UNHCR’s provisional statistical report which measured asylum levels and trends in 44 industrialised nations, the number of asylum seekers last year remained the same with 377,000 applications compared to 2008.
Of this figure, Afghans represent 7 per cent (26,404); Iraqis – 7 per cent (26,404); Somalia – 6 per cent (22,632); Russia – 6 per cent (22,632); China – 5 per cent (18,860); Serbia – 5 per cent (18,860); and Nigerians – 4 per cent (15,088).
Nationals of the seven countries represent 40 per cent of asylum seekers, while the remaining 60 per cent come from other nationalities across the globe. The three countries that top the list – Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia – had been repeatedly described as dangerous places to live in.
While suicide bombing is rampant in Afghanistan and Iraq, warlords and pirates reign in Somalia.
Nearly half of the 377,000 applicants came from Asia and the Middle East representing 45 per cent, followed by Africa – 29 per cent, Europe – 15.5 per cent and the Americas – 9 per cent.
The report said United States of America remains the main destination country for asylum seekers for the fourth year as it accounted for 13 per cent of the claims, which represents an estimated 49,000 people, many of whom are from China.
Next to the US is France, which received 42,000 new applications in 2009, a 19 per cent increase over 2008. Canada ranks third among receiving countries with 33,000 applications, followed by United Kingdom with 29,800 applications. Germany received 27,600 asylum applications.