New York: Iraq, Pakistan and China were among the top countries whose nationals sought asylum in the developed nations last year. A five-year decline in asylum applications turned around in 2007 largely because of Iraqis fleeing violence in their home country, the statistics released by the United Nations refugee agency show.

Other groups recording a significant rise in applications last year were Pakistanis (up 87 per cent), Syrians (up 47 per cent) and Somalis (up 43 per cent). "For the second year running, Iraqis topped the list of asylum-seekers in the world's industrialised countries," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a report.

A total of some 338,000 new applications for refugee status were submitted in 43 industrialised countries last year, says the report which is based on information provided by governments. That figure represents a 10 per cent rise compared to 2006, when 306,300 asylum claims were registered, the lowest number of applications in 20 years.

Between the two years, the number of Iraqis applying for asylum almost doubled, from 22,900 in 2006 to 45,200 last year. The other top countries of origin of applicants in 2007 were the Russia (18,800), China (17,100), Serbia (15,400) and Pakistan (14,300). UNHCR points out that Iraqi asylum-seekers in industrialised countries represented only one per cent of the estimated 4.5 million Iraqis uprooted by conflict.

More than 2.5 million people remain displaced within Iraq and another two million have fled to neighbouring countries such as Syria and Jordan, the agency said.

Source : PTI