Germany registers its 1 millionth refugee of 2015

BERLIN, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Germany's 1 millionth asylum seeker of 2015 has registered with a national refugee database, though after an active November the number of refugees has slowed.

More than 200,000 of the 1 million now in the "Easy" computer system arrived in November, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere said.

He said the number has dwindled to between 2,000 and 3,000 per day since, down from 8,000 or more in the early autumn. He connected the decline to colder weather and Turkey's limitations on those leaving Turkey for Greece and other Western countries.

Of the 1 million mark, some observers say the actual number is lower, with some asylum seekers registered more than once. Others suggest it is higher because new arrivals may not yet have registered.

Germany, with its generous asylum laws and reputation as a welcoming nation, is a popular destination for refugees from Syria and other Middle East and African countries, and the new figures are indicative of the scale of the migration. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has sought to find a common policy with other European Union leaders to deal with the arrival of refugees, some EU countries have been critical of Germany for worsening the issue by encouraging people to leave their homelands and attempt the migration to Europe.