MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &045; The number of international refugees in Minnesota returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels last year, thanks in part to a surge in East African immigrants.

Minnesota ranked first in the nation in the number of foreign refugee arrivals in 2004 on a population-adjusted basis, according to federal figures. Last year, one refugee arrived for every 875 Minnesotans. That’s more than four times the national rate.

The state ranked third in the raw number of refugees arriving in 2004, trailing Florida and California. More than 7,300 refugees or people granted political asylum came to Minnesota last year, according to state Health Department figures.

The figure includes people who came to Minnesota directly from another country, not those who settle in another state first. The government defines refugees as foreign-born people who can’t return to their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution.

The number of refugees to come to Minnesota hit a low of 1,035 in 2002, when refugees were subjected to extra scrutiny after the terrorist attacks of 2001. The surge since then has forced settlement agencies to adjust.