Who Is Seeking Asylum?
Worldwide, the number of asylum seekers is rising. In Italy, applications were up by 122 per cent, closely followed by Norway at 121 per cent, between 2007 and 2008. Australia experienced a 19 per cent increase. This year, Australia will take 13,750 refugees through its humanitarian program, an increase of 250 on 2009. Tamil Sri Lankans are expected to dominate the intake. Iraqis remained the single largest nationality seeking protection in the industrialised world, with 40,500 applying for asylum in 2008, according to a recent UNHCR report. 383,000 people made new asylum requests in 51 countries in 2008, a rise of 12 per cent on the previous year. 21,800 Somalis, 20,500 people from the Russian Federation, 18,500 Afghans and 17,400 Chinese also sought asylum in countries around the world.
