Asylum applications to the EU are the lowest since 1988

The UN refugee agency said the number of applications fell for a fourth year in a row in 2005, leaving levels at their lowest in nearly 20 years.

Canada and the US saw the biggest decrease in numbers, with 54% fewer asylum requests in 2005 than in 2001.

In the EU, the number of asylum seekers in 2005 was the lowest since 1988.

The UN high commissioner for refugees said the figures showed that talk in industrialised countries of a growing asylum problem did not "reflect the reality".

"Indeed, industrialised countries should be asking themselves whether by imposing ever tighter restrictions on asylum seekers, they are not closing their doors to men, women and children fleeing persecution," Antonio Guterres said.

The UNHCR's latest figures show that in 2005, 336,000 asylum applications were submitted to 50 industrialised nations, a 15% decrease compared to the previous year.

Applications in the European Union fell by 16% in 2005, with the sharpest decrease seen in the 10 new member nations. They saw a fall in applications of 35%, compared to 12% in the other EU countries. In the UK, applications were the lowest since 1993.

Rise in Iraqi migrants

The US and Canada recorded the biggest drop in the number of asylum seekers in the last five years - together they received 54% fewer asylum requests than in 2001. Applications in Australia and New Zealand saw an even sharper fall, dropping by 75% in the same period.

France remained the top recipient nation with an estimated 50,000 new applications, a 15% decrease on 2004. The US received 48,000 applications, followed by the UK with 30,500. Germany and Austria were in fourth and fifth places.

An alternative measuring system which compared arrivals to a country's total population ranked Cyprus, Austria, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland as the top receiving countries.

In terms of asylum seekers, the largest group came from Serbia and Montenegro. This includes asylum seekers from Kosovo. The Russian Federation came second, followed by China, Iraq and Turkey.

Asylum seekers from Haiti and Iraq saw the steepest increase, rising by 27% in 2005. But the number of applicants from Turkey and Afghanistan continued to drop.

Mr Guterres urged industrialised countries to concentrate on protecting refugees rather than cutting their numbers.