Around 6,500 Russian citizens applied for asylum in January-June, behind Iraq (19,800), China (8,600), Pakistan (7,300), and Serbia and Montenegro (7,200), according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
During 2006, Russia took third place on the list.
The UNHCR report, based on information provided by governments, said the United States was by far the largest recipient of new asylum claims in the first half of this year, with around 26,800 applications, up 1,200 on the second half of 2006. Sweden came second, with 17,700 new claims in the January-June, up 15,500 on the previous six months.
The document said that according to preliminary data, almost 20,000 Iraqis applied for asylum in rich countries in the first half of 2007, up 45 percent on the second half of 2006. The data does not take into account Iraqis who fled to Syria, Jordan, and other neighboring countries, which account for the majority of Iraqi refugees. Around 2.2 million Iraqis are now outside their war-torn country.
