Venezuelans seeking asylum abroad nearly tripled in 2022, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which found that more than two in five new asylum applicants globally last year came from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Venezuelan asylum applications surged 186% last year to 264,000 amid an economic crisis which began in 2014, leaving many struggling to afford basic goods and services and prompting the largest refugee exodus recorded in the Americas.

Some 5.45 million Venezuelans were counted as refugees or in need of international protection at the end of 2022, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), representing 16 in every 100 globally.

Cuba, also hit by U.S. trade sanctions and fuel shortages, recorded the second highest asylum figure at 194,700, a six-fold increase on 2021. This was followed by Nicaragua at 165,800, Colombia at 90,500, Honduras at 79,700 and Haiti at 73,500.

Asylum seekers primarily stayed within the region, particularly in neighboring countries, the UNHCR found, with the United States, Costa Rica and Mexico receiving the most requests.

While 2022 saw countries process asylum requests faster than previous years, the UNHCR said that backlogs keep growing due to “the sheer volume of new applications.”

Globally, the agency recorded a record 21% annual increase in displaced people last year.

People granted refugee status in the Americas reached 800,600 last year, with a further 5.2 million deemed in need of international protection, it added.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has urged migrants to use legal pathways to enter the United States, including using a mobile app called CBP One to schedule appointments to request asylum.

After COVID-19 pandemic restrictions known as Title 42 expired in May, the administration also implemented a strict new regulation that could deny asylum to many migrants crossing the border illegally.

-Reuters