German officials say 12,285 people applied for asylum in the country in January. That is a 15 percent drop compared with the same month last year. In January 2017, Germany recorded 14,476 new asylum requests, while some 13,082 people applied for asylum in December. Figures published by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday show most new asylum-seekers last month originated from Syria, Iraq and Nigeria, AP said. Since the dramatic influx of 2015, the number of new asylum requests in Germany has declined steadily. European states have enforced stricter border controls and clamped down on people-smuggling across the Mediterranean Sea.