Bids for asylum increase again
The number of people applying for asylum in Switzerland rose to its highest level this year in October, but there are still more asylum-seekers leaving the country than entering it.
The Federal Refugee Office said it received 1,814 applications last month, 161 more than in September. However, the figure remains well below the number of departures, which reached 3,039 in October.
Most people seeking asylum are still coming from Yugoslavia (338 last month), followed by Turkey (152), Bosnia-Herzegovina (147), and Iraq (99).
Asylum-seekers from Yugoslavia are by far also the largest group leaving Switzerland. They made up more than half of all departures in October.
The refugee office said a total of 34,215 people had returned to Yugoslavia, mostly to the province of Kosovo, this year.
swissinfo with agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
Contributions under this article have been turned off. You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.