Off the wire
• 2dn LD: Three scientists share 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry  • Weather information for Asia-Pacific cities  • Ethiopia to host 2015 regional football championship  • Vietnam awarded over 13,300 USD for winning berth at AFC final in 2016  • ECB further lowers ELA ceiling for Greek banks  • China Open tennis results  • Vietnam to play Iraq, Thailand at Asian qualifiers for 2018 World Cup  • Philippine Dengue case reach 92,807 in first 9 months  • UN urges human-rights based migration policy ahead of key EU discussion  • 1st Ld: China launches commercial remote-sensing satellites  
You are here: 　 Home

Belgian asylum figure reading highest level in 15 years: official data

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The number of asylum requests in Belgium is heading towards its highest level in 15 years, according to official new figures published by local media on Wednesday.

De Standaard reports that the latest statistics from the Belgian Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons show 22,266 asylum applications have been made since the start of 2015.

There were 5,512 in September alone, up 19.3 percent on August and an increase of 206.7 percent compared with September 2014.

According to the newspaper, with three months to go until the end of the year, Belgium is likely to finish 2015 with its highest asylum figure since 2000, when a major regularization of migrants was implemented.

Iraqis and Syrians accounted for seven out of 10 requests made so far this year, De Standaard added, and there has been a sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied minors seeking refuge in Belgium. Enditem