In 2013, 435,000 asylum applicants were registered in the European Union (EU), 100,000 more than last year, according to a report published on Monday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Around 90 percent of the applicants are new while around 10 percent are repetitive applicants.

The report said the highest number of applicants was registered in Germany, followed by France, Sweden, Britain and Italy. These five Member States accounted for 70 percent of all applicants registered in the EU in 2013.

The report also said Syrians and Russians accounted for nearly a quarter of all asylum seekers and 65 percent of first instance decisions made on asylum applications were rejections.

The report defines Asylum applicant as a person having submitted an application for international protection or having been included in such application as a family member during the reference period. Endi

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