The EU border protection agency Frontex recorded more than 330 000 illegal entries last year. “This is the highest number since 2016 and an increase of 64 percent over the previous year,” the authority reported on Friday.
After an initial decline in illegal border crossings due to the Corona pandemic, a sharp increase was registered again in 2021 and 2022 . The Western Balkans route accounted for almost half of the total.
Around 47 percent of the migrants picked up by Frontex last year came from Syria, Afghanistan and Tunisia. The number of Syrians has roughly doubled to 94 000. Not even a tenth of the migrants are women while nine percent are minors.
“Separately, between February 24, 2022 and the end of the year, almost 13 million Ukrainian refugees were counted entering the EU’s external land borders from Ukraine and Moldova, who are not included in these figures,” the border authority added. Some 10 million Ukrainians have since left the EU.
🆕 Situation at 🇪🇺 external borders in 2022:
🔶 Around 330 000 irregular border crossings in 12 months
🔶 64% increase from the previous yearRead more: https://t.co/Ita2eRJ3cn pic.twitter.com/5pqzJuJynh
— Frontex (@Frontex) January 13, 2023