Asylum Myth: Britain is the top destination for asylum seekers
Fact: Even within the EU, the UK ranked 10th in 2001 in number of asylum applications compared to the country’s population. The world’s poorest countries both produce and bear responsibility for most refugees. During 1992-2001, 86% of the world’s estimated 12 million refugees originated in developing countries, while such countries provided asylum to 72%. In comparison with countries like Canada, the UK is no ‘soft touch’. In 2001, Canada granted protection to 97% of Afghan asylum applicants, while the UK granted only 19%. Somali applicants had a 92% success rate in Canada, while in the UK it was only 34%.
An analysis by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees showed that the major reason for lodging applications in a particular country is the presence of an established community there. In January to June 2000, of all applications in Europe, 96% of people from Mali sought asylum in France, 60% of Albanians applied in Belgium, 48% of Nigerians applied in Ireland and 45% of Sri Lankans applied in the UK.
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