Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2011
Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2011
CANBERRA, Australia - In its latest annual Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries Report, released today, UNHCR noted that 441,300 people claimed asylum in the 44 industrialized countries covered by the study during 2011. This represented a 20 per cent increase from 2010, when 368,000 claims were submitted.
The largest relative increases were seen in southern European countries - which recorded an 87 per cent increase - largely driven by the numbers of people fleeing North Africa by boat. A large increase was also observed in North America, where new asylum applications rose by almost 25 per cent.
By contrast, the Report shows the number of asylum-seekers coming to Australia in 2011 declined by nine per cent - from 12,640 in 2010 to 11,510 in 2011 - largely due to a reduction in the number of people coming to Australia by boat.
The largest number of asylum claims in 2011 were received in the United States of America (74,020), France (51,910), Germany (45,740), Italy (34,120), and Sweden (29,650).
Globally, Afghans were recorded as the largest nationality of asylum-seekers in industrialized countries, followed by China, Iraq, Serbia and Pakistan. The number of Afghans seeking asylum in the industrialized world was up by 34 per cent - an increase which has mostly been observed in Europe.
Going against this trend, Australia recorded a 45 per cent decrease in the number of Afghans claiming asylum in Australia.
"This Report shows clearly that the numbers of asylum-seekers coming to Australia are modest - and certainly manageable - when compared to many other industrialized countries," UNHCR Regional Representative Richard Towle said today.
"The recent introduction of a single system to assess refugee claims of both boat and air arrivals is a welcome step towards improving the efficiency, fairness and overall quality of the asylum system in Australia," Towle said.
"At the same time, UNHCR encourages Australia to maintain its commitment to working constructively and collaboratively with other states in the region under the Regional Cooperation Framework. We are convinced that if people can be made safer and more secure in South East Asia then they will not need to place their lives in the hands of people smugglers and have resort to dangerous boat journeys to Australia," he said.
