In October, more than 15,300 irregular border
crossings were detected on the four main migratory routes into the EU.
The total number of migrants detected on these routes in the first ten months of this year fell by 63% to around 173,000 from the same period in 2016.
Central Mediterranean
The number of migrants arriving in Italy via the Central Mediterranean route in October remained almost constant from the month before, at roughly 6,700. Tunisia was the top country of origin, cementing a trend that began in the summer months.
The total number of arrivals for the first 10 months of 2017 stood at around 112,000, a reduction of 30% from the same period of last year. The top countries of origin overall this year were Nigeria, followed by Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Bangladesh.
Western Mediterranean
The number of migrants detected arriving via the Western Mediterranean sea route in October reached approximately 3,300, more than double the figure in September 2017.
In the first 10 months of this year, the number of irregular migrants reaching Spain by sea stood at some 15,500, more than a 100% increase in comparison with the same period of 2016.
Most of the migrants detected on this route came from Morocco, Algeria and Ivory Coast.
Eastern Mediterranean
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Greece in October reached 4,900, a drop of 25% from September 2017.
In the first 10 months of this year, roughly 31,500 migrants reached Greece, a decrease of 82% 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 October, 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.