Chapter 4 EUROPE Table 2 | New asylum claims registered | 2019 Europe saw a spike in the number of new asylumseekers in 2014, largely because of the outbreak of conflict in eastern Ukraine. It experienced another spike in new asylum requests in 2015. As the war in Syria intensified and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan worsened, an increasing number of people risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety and protection. More than one million people arrived in Europe by boat – the vast majority from these three refugee-producing countries. More than 1.5 million new asylum claims were lodged in the major European destination countries, including Germany and Sweden. Arrivals in Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy and Spain continued in subsequent years but remained below 200,000 between 2017 and 2019.52 United States53 301,000 Peru 259,800 Germany 142,500 France 123,900 Spain 118,300 Brazil 82,500 Greece 74,900 Mexico 70,400 Costa Rica 59,200 Canada 58,400 AMERICAS MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA The deteriorating situation in Venezuela and increased violence and insecurity in parts of Central America led to a significant increase in the number of new asylum applications registered in the Americas. Between 2016 and 2019, nationals from Central America and Venezuela lodged 1.6 million asylum applications across the continent. This compares to 220,000 between 2010 and 2015. Almost one million asylum claims were recorded in 2019 alone, notably in the United States of America, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada and Brazil. The Americas became the largest recipient of asylum applications worldwide in 2019. Across most of the Middle East and North Africa, UNHCR conducts RSD under its mandate. As such, it registered about 600,000 new asylum applications during the last decade. Four out of ten asylum claims were registered with UNHCR either in Egypt (159,000) or Jordan (99,200). It is mainly Sudanese (in Egypt) and Iraqis (in Jordan) who undergo RSD. ASIA AND PACIFIC The Asia and Pacific region witnessed a steady increase in the number of new asylum-seekers. Almost one million new asylum applications were submitted during the last decade. Malaysia, where UNHCR conducts RSD under its mandate recorded more than one quarter of them (257,000). Australia was the second largest recipient with 188,600 new asylum claims, twothirds in the last four years. 52 See: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean UNHCR > GLOBAL TRENDS 2019 53 2019 figure: estimated number of individuals based on the number of new affirmative asylum cases (89,500) and multiplied by 1.501 to reflect the average number of individuals per case (Source: US Department of Homeland Security) and the number of defensive asylum applications (166,700 individuals) (Source: US Department of Justice). 39