Malta received, on average, the highest number of asylum seekers last year compared to its national population among industrialised countries, a report by the UN refugee agency said.

Malta received 2,200 applications for asylum in 2013, or 20.2 applicants per 1,000 inhabitants, according to the UNHCR.

Sweden ranked second (19.2 applicants per 1,000 inhabitants), followed by Liechtenstein (17.3 applicants per 1,000 inhabitants).

The refugee agency’s report shows a sharp rise in asylum claims in 44 industrialised countries over the course of last year, driven primarily by the crisis in Syria. War forced more than 40 million people to flee their homes. In 2013, Europe received 484,000 asylum claims, an increase of 32 per cent compared with the year before.

As the number of migrants’ boats consistently landed in Malta last summer, the applications for asylum shot up, with a total of 738 filed in August alone.

Last year also saw the crisis in far-away Syria fuelling the number of asylum applications in Malta. Provisional data indicate some 56,400 Syrians requested refugee status in 2013.

Jon Hoisaeter, head of UNHCR in Malta, said 2014 is expected to continue bringing major challenges, as the instability persists in North Africa, especially Libya, as well as the Middle East.

“We need to have a sufficient contingency plan. Europe needs to show even more solidarity to share responsibility. We also need more flexibility with the Dublin regulation,” Mr Hoisaeter told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Under EU law, asylum seekers have to remain in the first European country they enter, a policy long contested by Malta.

As much as the UNHCR will continue helping Malta with resettlement, it also has its own responsibilities to improve its detention system, Mr Hoisaeter said. He added the statistics should show which countries were under most strain, but also prove that contrary to public perception, even some northern European states were feeling the strain.

With around 109,000 new asylum claims, Germany was the largest recipient of asylum seekers. France received the second highest number in Europe with around 60,000 claims. Sweden was the main destination country in Northern Europe, receiving around 53,000 applications. In Southern Europe, the number of newly registered asylum-seekers increased by 49 per cent to 89,600, the highest to date.

Turkey was the main recipient of asylum applications in the region (44,800), followed by Italy (27,800) and Greece (8,200).

The increase in Italy was mainly due to the many boat arrivals during last year. This trend is continuing in 2014 as almost 10,000 people have arrived in Italy since the beginning of January.

Despite the general increase in arrivals of asylum seekers in the industrialised countries, the overall numbers are dwarfed compared with those seeking protection in regions near conflict areas.

Number submitted

2009 - 2,390
2010 - 140
2011 - 1,860
2012 - 2,060
2013 - 2,200

By country:

Somalia - 1,008
Eritrea - 471
Syria - 250
Libya - 108
Nigeria - 85
Gambia - 70
Mali - 40
Senegal - 35
Ghana - 30
Ethiopia - 15