Baku. 26 March. REPORT.AZ/ 866,000 requests for asylum in industrialized countries were registered in 2014, which is 45% more than the year before. Report informs citing TASS, according to the published report in Geneva by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this figure is the highest number since the conflict in Balkans 22 years ago.

The war in Syria and Iraq, armed conflict and instability in several other countries, human rights violations were identified among the reasons for the sharp growth.

By the end of 2013, there were 51,2 million people who had to leave their homes due to persecution, conflicts, violence and human rights violations. 16,7 million of them are refugees, 33,3 million - internally displaced persons, 1,2 million - asylum seekers.