More than 700,000 granted asylum in EU in 2016

The European Union's statistical agency says European countries granted refugee status or some other protection to more than 700,000 people last year, most of them Syrians.
Eurostat said today that the 28 EU member countries gave protection to 710,400 asylum-seekers in 2016, more than double the number the previous year.
It came after more than a million people entered Europe, most fleeing conflict in Syria or Iraq but some also looking for jobs.
Eurostat said that 405,600 people were Syrians, 65,800 were Iraqis and 61,800 Afghans.
More than 70 per cent of the Syrians were offered protection by Germany. Sweden took in almost 45,000.