Australia defied the global trend and recorded a 9 per cent drop in asylum seeker claims last year, supporting the United Nations refugee agency's assertion that the numbers coming to this country are modest and ''certainly manageable'' when compared with other industrialised countries.

The UNHCR said the drop, from 12,640 arrivals in 2010 to 11,510 last year, was in contrast to an increase in asylum seeker claims in all other industrialised regions - including an 87 per cent jump in southern Europe.

While the number of Afghans seeking asylum in the industrialised world was up 34 per cent - with most applications being lodged in Europe - Australia recorded a 45 per cent drop in Afghan applications.

The agency said the drop was largely due to a fall in boat arrivals and urged the Gillard government to focus on making asylum seekers feel safer in south-east Asian transit countries so there was less incentive to risk their lives on boat trips to Australia.