Number of Migrant Sea Arrivals in Spain in 2018 Exceeds Past 3 Years Combined - IOM
Almost 52,000 migrants have reached Spain by sea in 2018 so far, with the figures exceeding the number of all arrivals in the country over the same period between 2015 and 2017 combined, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
"IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 106,269 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2018 through 25 November. Spain topped 51,984 - more irregular arrivals to Spain through this point in 2018 than all arrivals during the past three years combined," the organization said in a press release published on its official website, adding that over 2,100 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean over the period.
Spain is leading the group of most popular entry points for migrants arriving by sea, with Greece coming second with just over 29,000 arrivals.
According to IOM, the number of migrants irregularly arriving in Europe has exceeded the 100,000 threshold for the fifth year in a row, registering however a striking contrast to the same period of 2016, when a total of 348,591 people reached the region.
Europe has been experiencing its worst migration crisis in recent history since 2015, struggling to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people fleeing hostilities in the middle Eastern and North African countries.