A record year. The number of irregular entries into the European Union increased by 17% in 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching the highest level since 2016, the European Border Surveillance Agency, Frontex, announced on Tuesday.
Frontex, based in Warsaw, indicated that this was a “significant increase in the number of irregular border entries in 2023, the highest since 2016”, specifying that this number had risen to 380,000, of which 41% via the central Mediterranean. Two other busiest migration routes in 2023 passed through the Western Balkans (26%) and the Eastern Mediterranean (16%).
“Syrians accounted for more than 100,000 irregular crossings last year, the highest number among all nationalities,” followed by Guineans and Afghans, Frontex said in a press release. “These top three nationalities accounted for more than a third of all detections. »
Around 10% of irregular entries were made by women and almost as many by minors. These annual data confirm “a constant upward trend over the last three years”, notes the agency.