(ANSA) - Brussels, March 16 - Requests for asylum in Italy rose 46% in 2016, Eurostat said Thursday, compared to a 63% rise in the top country, Germany. Overall, asylum requests in Europe fell slightly to 1,204,300, from 1,257,000 in 2015, but were still more than double 2014's 562,700. Most requests were made in Germany (722,300, or 60% of the total), followed by Italy (121,200, 10%), France (76,000, 6%), Greece (49,900, 4%), Austria (39,900, 3%) and the United Kingdom (38,300, 3%).

