So far this year, 3,310 asylum seekers have arrived in Norway, an increase of 20 percent compared to the first months of 2012. The number of minors among the asylum seekers, however, has declined.
The largest group of asylum seekers come from Somalia (18 percent), followed by Eritrea (15 percent) and Afghanistan (8 percent), according to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).
Almost all asylum seekers from Eritrea have their applications approved, but the percentage of denied applications among the Somali and Afghan applicants has slightly increased.
273 asylum seekers that arrived in Norway this year stated that they were single minors, a seven percent decrease from last year.
UDI informs that 58 percent of the asylum seekers that had their cases processed in 2012 were granted to stay in Norway. That's an increase from 52 percent in 2011.
In January the UDI estimated that approximately 10,000 asylum seekers will arrive in Norway throughout 2013, which is at the same level as last year, but already in March the directorate increased the estimate to 11,000.
(NRK)
