Analysis: Europe’s asylum trends

The number of asylum seekers in the world's 38 industrialised countries in 2004 fell to its lowest level in 16 years - but for several of the EU's new member-states the figures rose sharply. The BBC's Central and South-East Europe analyst, Gabriel Partos, examines what lies behind the European trends reported by the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR.

• Primary Source

UNHCR: Press Release, 1.3.05: UNHCR: Asylum claims fall to lowest level since 1988 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4308839.stm

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