Number of asylum seekers in Germany increases by nearly 60 percent to 200,000 people in 2014

FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2014 file picture asylum seekers wait inside the Berlin Central Reception Facility for Asylum Seekers in Berlin. More than 200,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2014, a 60-percent rise over the previous year. Germany's Interior Ministry said Wednesday Jan. 14, 2015 it was the third highest number of applications ever in Germany. (AP Photo/dpa, Jochen Eckel,file) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2015 file picture a construction worker walks up the staircase of a so-called container village for refugees which is partially under construction in the district of Koepenick in Berlin. The containers were built as temporary living quarters for the rising numbers of refugees applying for asylum in the German capital. More than 200,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2014, a 60-percent rise over the previous year. Germany's Interior Ministry said Wednesday Jan. 14, 2015 it was the third highest number of applications ever in Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber,File) (The Associated Press)

BERLIN – More than 200,000 people applied for asylum in Germany in 2014, a 60-percent rise over the previous year.

Germany's Interior Ministry said Wednesday it was the third highest number of applications ever in Germany.

Around 41,000 people, or 20 percent of all asylum seekers, were Syrian refugees and they usually were granted asylum. About 30 percent came from the Balkans region — their applications were generally rejected because "they didn't fulfill the needed requirements."

Among the 202,834 applications, 173,072 people applied for refugee status for the first time, while the others had applied previously. Only 127,023 applied in 2013.

The ministry said the agency processing asylum requests and local communities had been receiving financial support to help deal with the high influx of new arrivals.