With a provisional total of 358,600 asylum claims registered during the year in Europe, this region remained the primary destination for individual asylum-seekers, followed closely by Africa (336,400). (25) Both regions accounted for 39 and 37 per cent, respectively, of all claims lodged. The Americas and Asia recorded 125,000 and 93,700 respectively, while Oceania received 9,000 asylum-seekers. These figures include applicants who were unsuccessful at first instance and subsequently filed an appeal. New individual asylum applications received South Africa was again the main destination for new asylum-seekers worldwide with more than 222,000 asylum claims registered in 2009 - almost as many as were lodged in the 27 Member States of the European Union combined. This figure also accounted for almost one quarter of all individual applications globally. The number of applications more than quadrupled compared to 2007, when 45,600 individuals sought international protection, and is 7 per cent higher than in Fig 10 Main destination countries 2008. Zimbabweans accounted for twoof new asylum-seekers | 2008-2009 thirds of all claims submitted in 2009 (149,500 applications). 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 (x1,000) The United States of America, receiving roughly one-fifth of the number of claims 2009 as South Africa, was in second position with 47,900 applications. The number of new asylum claims lodged in the United States of America remained stable in recent years. France was the third largest recipient during 2009 (42,100 claims), RSA* USA FRA MLS* ECU CAN UK SWE ETH* GER* recording a 19 per cent increase compared to 2008 (35,400 claims) and * RSA=South Africa; MLS=Malaysia; ETH=Ethiopia; GER=Germany the second consecutive annual rise. The increase in 2009 is partly attributed to a higher number of asylum-seekers from Serbia (+67%),(26) and Armenia (+50%). Malaysia was the fourth most important destination country for new asylum-seekers in 2009, with more than 40,000 asylum claims registered with the UNHCR TABLE 4 office, mostly by people from Myanmar (94%). Other important destination New asylum claims countries for asylum-seekers were Ecuador (35,500), Canada (34,000),(27) lodged in 2009 in top and the United Kingdom (29,800). 10 UNHCR offices* 2008 In 2009, UNHCR offices received 114,000 new applications for refugee status and 5,100 applications for appeal or for review. The office in Malaysia received the largest number of new requests (40,000). The office in “Somaliland” (north-west Somalia) was the second largest receiver of new claims in 2009 (15,600 new claims), followed by Kenya (15,400), Turkey (7,800), and India (6,000). UNHCR operations in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia and Somalia witnessed an increase in applications, while offices in Cameroon, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and Turkey saw a decrease in new applications. The top five receiving UNHCR offices together registered three-quarters of all new applications in 2009. Moreover, 90 per cent of UNHCR’s refugee status determination work in terms of applications received was concentrated in 12 countries. Malaysia Somalia Kenya Turkey India Indonesia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Cameroon Iraq Egypt 40,100 15,600 15,400 7,800 6,000 3,200 3,000 2,900 2,700 2,600 * Excludes appeal/review claims. 25 The geographical regions used are those of the UN Statistics Division http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm. Nine out of ten applications are lodged by Serb citizens from Kosovo. 27 Source: Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) Canada. 26 2009 Global Trends 17