In July, the number of detections of illegal border crossings on Europe’s main migratory routes rose 4% from the previous month to around 10 500. Overall, the total for the first seven months of 2019 was 30% lower than a year ago at around 54 300.
Eastern Mediterranean
The Eastern Mediterranean remained the busiest migratory route into Europe with nearly 5 800 detections in July 2019*.
In the first seven months of this year, the total number of detections in this region was down 6% from a year ago to almost 28 200. Despite the overall decrease, the number of arrivals on the Greek islands in the Aegean increased by a quarter in comparison with the same period of last year.
Most of the migrants detected on this route were nationals of Afghanistan.
Western Mediterranean
The number of irregular migrants taking the Western Mediterranean Sea route in July rose 22% from the previous month to almost 2 900.
The total for the January-July period stood at around 13 000, 41% less than in the same period of last year.
Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa accounted for the largest number of detected migrants on this route in the first seven months of 2019.
Central Mediterranean
The number of migrants passing through the Central Mediterranean in July stood at around 1 100.
The total for the first seven months of the year reached nearly 4 900, slightly more than a quarter of the total from the same period of last year.
Nationals of Tunisia, Sudan and Pakistan were the most represented nationalities on this route in the January-July period.
Western Balkans
There were 460 detections of illegal border crossings recorded on this route in July. The total for the first seven months reached nearly 5 800, double the figure from a year ago.
Nationals of Afghanistan and Iran accounted for the largest share of migrants detected on this route.
