Where people seek asylum, and where they are from

LAST year 358,800 applications for asylum were lodged in 44 of the world's richer countries, according to a report by the UN High Commissoner for Refugees published on March 28th. This has fallen by around half since 2001. The largest number of claims came from Serbians, for whom restrictions on travel to the European Union without a visa were lifted in December 2009. This resulted in a rise in applications from 18,800 in 2009 to nearly 29,000 last year. Meanwhile, claims from citizens of neighbouring Macedonia increased by 600% to 6,351. Applications made by people from Afghanistan and Iraq fell by 9% and 18%. Over 11,000 applications for asylum in America last year were made by Chinese citizens, by far the biggest claimant nationality in the United States.