European asylum statistics, first quarter 2000

During the first three months of 2000, the number of asylum applications submitted in Europe fell by 8%, from 104,750 during the fourth quarter of 1999 to 96,050 during the first quarter of 2000. In the countries of the European Union, this decline was slightly less (-7%).

Among the ten main asylum countries, two recorded an increase in the number of quarterly asylum applications submitted, that is Denmark (65%) and France (16%). The eight countries which registered a decrease in quarterly applications submitted were Belgium (-31%), Austria (-22%), Germany (-14%), Ireland (-14%), Switzerland (-12%), the United Kingdom (-5%), Sweden (-4%) and the Netherlands (-1%).

Three major receiving countries experienced a significant change in their ranking by the number of asylum applications received. Denmark, which ranked 14th during the fourth quarter of 1999, ranked 8th during the first three months of 2000, Ireland moved from 8th to 10th position, whereas Norway fell from the 10th to 13th position.

The United Kingdom was the largest recipient of asylum applicants in Europe in March 2000, receiving 20.5% of all applications submitted. (It should be noted, however, that the figures reported by the Government of the United Kingdom concern the number of cases, whereas most other countries report the number of persons. As there are, on average, 1.3 persons per case in the UK, the data underestimates the actual situation.) Germany ranked second, receiving 19.0% of all applicants, followed by France (11.3%) and the Netherlands (11.0%). Whereas the total number of monthly asylum applications lodged in Europe shows generally a downward trend, France's share of applications is steadily increasing.