German asylum applications soar by 125 percent in a year

Applications for asylum in Germany more than doubled in the first seven months of this year, government figures released on Wednesday showed, as concern grows over the country's ability to cope with the record-breaking migrant influx.

From January to July, 218,221 people sought asylum in Germany, a 125-percent rise from the same period in 2014. Asylum applications are rising by the month, with figures showing an increase of six percent since June.

Germany is the biggest recipient of asylum-seekers in the European Union, which has seen a huge inflow of refugees this year as they flee war and poverty in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea.

Syrians continue to make up the largest group of applicants, but Germany has also seen a significant number of asylum-seekers from Balkan countries such as Albania and Serbia.

The latest figures came a day after coalition sources said the government would sharply raise its forecast for the number of asylum-seekers expected to arrive this year to a record-breaking 750,000.

The nation's highest annual intake to date was 438,191 in 1992 when Germany accepted large numbers of refugees fleeing conflicts resulting from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

A year later, the German parliament changed the constitution to impose stricter rules on asylum. Numbers then sank to a low of 28,000 in 2008 before they started climbing again.