Strasbourg, March 17, 2017: A total 1,204,000 people applied for political asylum in Europe last year, 53,000 fewer than in 2015, the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat said.

Syrians were the largest group of asylum-seekers (334,800) in 2016 followed by Afghans (183,000) and Iraqis (127,000), Eurostat reported on Thursday.

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Most asylum requests (60 per cent) were made in Germany, 10 per cent in Italy, 6 per cent in France, 4 per cent in Greece and 3 per cent in Austria, Eurostat said.

Overall asylum requests in Europe last year were almost twice the number made in 2014 (562,700), according to Eurostat. (IANS)