Countries in the European Union experienced a steep rise in the number of asylum seekers in 2013.
The number rose to nearly 435,000. In all, this is 100,000 more than in 2012.
The increase was fuelled in particular by the desperate situation in Syria. Syrian asylum seekers comprised 12% of the total, or 50,000.
They were followed by people from Russia (41,000 or 10%), Afghanistan (26,000 or 6%), Serbia (22,000 or 5%), Pakistan (21,000 or 5%), and Kosovo (20,000 or 5%).
Other nationals fleeing in large numbers were from Eritrea, Somalia, Iran, Nigeria and Iraq.
Of all these national groups, it is only Iraqis who have declined in number since 2008.
The highest number of applicants was registered in Germany (127,000 or 29%), followed by France (65,000 or 15%), Sweden (54,000 or 13%), UK (30,000 or 7%) and Italy (28,000 or 6%).
Together these five countries accounted for 70% of all applicants.
Portugal received only 500 applicants, one of the lowest rates in the EU. Only Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Slovakia had fewer.
Applications for asylum in Portugal came predominately from 145 Syrians, 80 people from Guinea, and 35 Nigerians.
Portugal rejected 170 of these claims, and granted asylum to 135 people. The remainder were still under review at the end of 2013.
Across the whole of the EU, a full 66% of all applications were rejected. Refugee status was granted to just 15%, temporary protection to 14% and temporary right to stay for humanitarian reasons such as ill health or unaccompanied minors to 5%.
The UK rejected more than 60% of its applications (13,840) while accepting 8,505 out of 22,340.
