The number of asylum seekers coming to the industrialised world fell by a fifth in 2004 to its lowest level in 16 years, according to the United Nations.
Applications have now fallen by 40% since a high in 2001.
More than 655,000 people sought asylum in industrialised nations in 2001.
Data coming from each of the 50 richest industrialised nations, show the number of asylum applications fell from 508,000 in 2003 to 396,400 in 2004.
The European Union as a whole recorded 19% fewer requests for asylum in 2004 - the lowest level in almost a decade.
Within Europe, asylum applications fell from just under 400,000 to 314,300 over the year.
Arrivals to the UK fell by 33% compared with the EU average of 19%. In Germany the fall was 30% and in Italy it was an estimated 26%.
North America recorded a quarter fewer asylum requests while the drop was higher still for Australia and New Zealand.
The number of asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iraq continued to fall - the two nations formerly having produced some of the largest movements of people into Europe in recent years.
The number of Afghans seeking asylum has dropped by 83% since 2001 while Iraqi asylum applications have fallen by 80% since 2002. These falls have coincided with regime changes in both countries.
Only five of the top 40 asylum nations recorded an increase - people from Haiti, Azerbaijan, Algeria and Moldova.
The drop in asylum applications relieves a tremendous amount of political pressure in the world.
While, immigration on the whole is usually very positive it can be detrimental in the short run, particularly, if the immigration is forced and in large numbers.
We have already seen fears over asylum seekers causing panic in Holland, Great Britain, the US, France and other industrialised nations.
Hopefully now that there has been a substantial fall in the number of seekers host countries will not feel as overwhelmed as they have done recently.
Consequently, they may now feel more comfortable giving new and recent arrivals a warmer welcome than they have done in the past few years.
The fact that more people in thrid world countries are not leaving for greener shores also indicates that life at home may be improving for them, particualrly in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Their presence at home is vital for the social fabric of their homeland. It is essential that struggling nations hold onto their brightest people so that they can build a future for themselves and their country.
Andrew Zilouf
Happier at Home
The United nations has reported a huge drop in asylum seekers.
