2017-12-11
In November, 13 500 irregular border crossings were detected on the four main migratory routes into the EU, 27% fewer than a year ago.
The total number of migrants detected on these routes in the first eleven months of this year fell by 62% to around 186 500 from the same period in 2016.
Central Mediterranean
The number of migrants arriving in Italy via the Central Mediterranean route in November fell by a tenth from the previous month to 5 300 due to worse weather conditions, following a usual seasonal pattern.
The total number of arrivals for the first 11 months of 2017 dropped by a third to around 116 400 compared to the same period of last year. Nigerians made up the largest number of irregular migrants coming to Italy so far this year, accounting for one of every seven arrivals. They were followed by nationals of Guinea, Ivory Coast and Bangladesh.
Western Mediterranean
Spain continued to see a high number of irregular migrants, with 3 900 arriving in November, more than three times the figure from a year ago. This was also the highest monthly number of migrants detected on this route since Frontex began collecting data in 2009.
More than half of the migrants were nationals of Algeria and Morocco, whose numbers have been on the rise since the middle of this year. Most of the remaining migrants on this route come from Western Africa.
Between January and November, there were more than 21 100 detections of irregular border crossing in the Western Mediterranean region, up 140% from the same period of last year.
Eastern Mediterranean
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Greece in November dropped 30% on a monthly basis to 3 700. The fall was in large part related to rough seas in the second part of the month.
In the first 11 months of this year, more than 37 900 migrants passed through the Eastern Mediterranean route, a decrease of 79% from the same period of 2016.
Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans accounted for the majority of detections on the Eastern Mediterranean route.
Western Balkans
The number of detections on the Western Balkan route remained relatively low in November, when roughly 500 migrants were detected, due to close cooperation on border control among the countries of the region.
Note: The data presented in this statement refer to the number of detections of irregular border-crossing at the external borders of the European Union. The same person may attempt to cross the border several times in different locations at the external border.