Following are the top-10 asylum-claimant countries (2011 claimants in brackets):
•South Africa: 110,000
•U.S.: 76,000
•France: 52,100
•Germany: 45,700
•Italy: 30,300
•Sweden: 29,600
•Belgium: 26,000
•U.K.: 25,500
•Canada: 25,000
•Ghana: 20,100
The number was lower than the 43.7 million people on the list in 2010, however, largely due to the fact that 3.2 million internally displaced people were able to return to their homes -- the most in a decade.
The report points out that more and more people are being forcibly displaced, with the annual level surpassing 42 million for each of the past five years. The numbers also show that those who become refugees are likely to maintain that status for many years, often living in a refugee camp or at the poverty line in an urban centre.
Of the 10.4 million refugees considered to be under UNHCR's protection, 7.1 million have been in exile for at least five years.
http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120618/un-refugee-report-canadian-laws-120618/20120618/?hub=OttawaHome
