Norwegian immigration agency UDI has registered 2,526 asylum seekers so far this year, a sharp decline from last year at this time, when that many were arriving nearly every week. Most of those still arriving continue to come from Syria and Afghanistan, following by Eritrea and Iraq.
A total of 1,566 men and 960 women were registered as asylum seekers by the end of September, reports UDI. Of them, more than 500 were children under the age of six.
Most arrived in January (413) while less than 300 have arrived every month since. A total of 264 sought asylum last month.
If the trend continues, with far fewer arrivals because of stricter border controls and the EU’s agreement with Turkey, less than 3,500 asylum seekers will arrive in Norway this year. UDI has already been closing asylum centers, after greatly boosting accommodation capacity last year.
newsinenglish.no staff
