14:42, 4 December 2003

Russia took the first place by number of people applying for asylum in industrialized countries

According to the data by UNHCR, the 29 industrialized countries covered by the UNHCR report received 321,724 asylum applications during the first nine months of the current year.

23,681 of the applicants were Russians ? the great majority of whom are believed to be Chechens. They have now taken over from the Iraqis (21,610 applications) as the top group of asylum seekers. Serbian and Montenegro, Turkey, China, Afganistan, Somalia, Nigeria, India, Pakistan are also among the top ten countries in the list by the number of applicants.

The 14th place in the list is taken by Georgia (5,364 applicants), the 22nd - by Armenia (3,856), and the 33rd - by Azerbaijan (2,624).

Source: Website of UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency)