In September, there were approximately 13 900 detections of illegal border crossings on the four main migratory routes into the EU.
The total number of detections on the four main migratory routes in the first nine months of 2017 fell by 64% from the same period of last year to 156 000.
Central Mediterranean
In September, the number of migrants arriving in Italy through the Central Mediterranean fell by more than two-thirds from the same month of last year to 5 600. But the monthly figure in September was higher than the total for the previous month because of more irregular migrants departing Turkey, Tunisia and Algeria arrived in Italy.
The total number of arrivals for the first three quarters of 2017 stood at nearly 104 800, still down 21% from the same period of last year. In fact, the third quarter of 2017 saw the lowest number of irregular migrants in the Central Mediterranean for the July-September period since 2014.
The number of people claiming to be from the North African countries, mainly Tunisia and Algeria, has risen in recent weeks, followed by nationals of sub-Saharan countries – Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
Western Mediterranean
The number of detections of illegal border crossings in the Western Mediterranean in September by both sea and land reached an estimated 1 800, up more than a quarter from a year ago. In the first nine months of the year, the number of irregular migrants reaching Spain stood at nearly 14 800, more than double the figure from the same period of 2016.
Most of the migrants detected on this route this year have come from Morocco, Ivory Coast and Algeria.
Eastern Mediterranean
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Greece in September stood at 5 750, a fifth more than in the previous month. In the first three quarters of this year, roughly 27 400 migrants reached Greece, down 84% from the same period of 2016.
Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans accounted for the majority of detections on the Eastern Mediterranean route in 2017.
Western Balkans
In September, the Western Balkan route saw a relatively low number of detections of illegal border-crossings thanks to stronger cooperation in border control among the countries in the region.
Note:
The data presented in this statement refer to the number of detections of illegal border-crossing at the external borders of the European Union. The same person may attempt to cross the border illegally several times in different locations at the external border.