Asylum applications in Austria drop by more than half in Q1

VIENNA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The number of asylum applications made in Austria in the first quarter has dropped by 55 percent year-over-year, preliminary figures from the Interior Ministry revealed on Friday.

The total applications made between January and March amounted to 6,480, compared to the 14,400 submitted a year ago.

The largest proportion of applications came from Syrian nationals with 1,908, following by Afghans on 1,133, and Nigerians on 445.

Syrians also had by far the highest approval rate for their applications of 88.5 percent, compared to 28 percent for Afghans, and only 1.5 percent for Nigerians.

The overall trend in applications following the massive influx of asylum seekers in 2015 thus appears to be in decline.