The number of requests for asylum in Switzerland fell slightly in 2010, according to the latest figures from the Federal Migration Office.

Last year federal authorities received requests from 15,567 people, a 2.7 per cent decrease from 2009. This is the second year in a row the number has dropped.

Of those requests, 3,449 people were granted asylum in 2010. That represents a higher percentage of success among all applicants than in the previous year because quotas were increased.

Another 2,722 asylum seekers were handed over to another European country as part of the Dublin Accords, an agreement that passes responsibility for processing the case to the country where the asylum seeker first landed.

The main country of origin for asylum seekers was the same in 2010 as in 2009: Nigeria. Some 1,969 applications were received from citizens of the west African state, 10.2 per cent more than in 2009.

Eritrea ranked second, with 1,799 requests and Sri Lanka was third, with 939 requests, a 33.6 per cent leap from 2009.

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