The number of irregular entries known in the European Union at the highest since 2016

The number of known irregular entries into the European Union increased by 17% in 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching the highest level since 2016, announced Tuesday January 16 the European border surveillance agency, Frontex.

Based in Warsaw, the agency announced that it was a “significant increase in the number of irregular entries in 2023”. The number of recorded entries amounted to 380,000, of which 41% via the central Mediterranean route.

These annual data confirm “a steady upward trend over the past three years”, notes the agency in a press release. The other two 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 of any nationality”followed by the Guineans and the Afghans, specifies Frontex. “These three nationalities accounted for more than a third of all detections”, according to the press release. Around 10% of irregular entries were made by women and almost as many by minors.