European asylum statistics for 1st 9 months of 1999

During the first nine months of 1999, 323,700 applications were submitted in 22 European countries, 31 per cent more than during the period January-September 1998. Significant increases were recorded in Hungary (+112%), Belgium (+75%), Austria (+70%) and the United Kingdom (+63%), whereas declines were registered in Sweden (-16%) and the Netherlands (-13%).

During the third quarter of 1999, some 118,600 asylum applications were submitted in Europe, an increase of 6 per cent when compared with the second quarter of 1999 (112,200). In countries of the European Union, however, this increase was 20 per cent.

During the third quarter of 1999, the United Kingdom received an estimated 26,970 asylum-seekers, (slightly) surpassing Germany, which received 26,740 new applications, for the first time.

From the second to the third quarter of 1999, Belgium experienced a 72 per cent rise in asylum applications. As a result, Belgium became the third main destination country for asylum seekers during the third quarter of 1999, whereas it had ranked sixth during the second quarter.

From the second to the third quarter of 1999, the number of Yugoslav asylum applications submitted in Europe fell by 29 per cent. Whereas Yugoslav asylum applications submitted in Switzerland fell by 56 per cent, they remained stable in Germany and increased by 74 per cent in the United Kingdom.

During the period July to September 1999, Yugoslav asylum applications (30,900) constituted 26 per cent of all applications lodged in Europe (118,600), down from 39 per cent during April to June 1999.