331,600 migrants illegally reached Europe in 2023, the most since the migrant crisis of 2015, says Frontex.
The number increased by a year-on-year 18 per cent in the first ten months of 2023, says the European border agency. There were 49,600 irregular crossings in October alone.
Irregular crossings on the Western African migrant route also doubled so far this year, to over 27,700.
That is the highest total for the route since Frontex began collecting data in 2009. The number of arrivals, 13,000 in October, is also the highest monthly total on record.
The three leading sources of irregular migrants are Syria, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire.
On Italy’s island of Lampedusa, over 1,600 migrants arrived on boats, saying they paid as much as $4,500 each for the crossing.
La situation est à nouveau hors de contrôle à Lampedusa. Depuis hier, 35 bateaux ont fait débarquer 1300 clandestins.
Pendant ce temps, la traîtresse Méloni préfère envoyer des frégates au large de Gaza. Ce n'est pas la bande de Gaza qui expédie ces migrants en Europe pourtant.… pic.twitter.com/4Pa06NWFQd
— Kim Jong Un ᵖᵃʳᵒᵈⁱᵉ (@KimJongUnique) November 15, 2023
The central Mediterranean remained the busiest migration route entering the EU in 2023.
National authorities report more than 143,600 detections there in the first nine months of 2023.
This is the route’s biggest total for the time period since 2016.
“Sea crossings continue to present extreme dangers,” the European border agency notes.
Data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) show “2,468 people have been reported missing in the Mediterranean this year, the majority of whom were navigating the Central Mediterranean route”, they add.
📢 Latest from Europe’s borders: In the first 10 months of 2023, detections at the 🇪🇺 external borders increased by 18% to 331 600 – highest since 2015.
📈 Record numbers on Western African route: 27 700 irregular crossings so far this year, the most since Frontex began… pic.twitter.com/0MyM4Nh2p3
— Frontex (@Frontex) November 15, 2023
