Undocumented Migrant Arrivals to EU Down 20% Year-on-Year in January - Frontex
The number of illegal crossings of EU borders via main migration routes fell in January by a third from December and by a fifth year-on-year to 6,760, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex, said on Wednesday
"In the first month of 2019, the number of detections of illegal border crossings on Europe's main migratory routes fell by a third compared to December to 6 760. The total was a fifth less than in January 2018 because of the lower number of migrants taking the Central Mediterranean route," the statement says.
According to the agency, the number of illegal crossings via the Central Mediterranean route fell 73 percent compared to December and 96 percent from January 2018 to just 150.
The Western Mediterranean route was the busiest last month with 3,780 irregular migrants using it to arrive to Europe. Despite falling 18 percent from December, this number was twice higher than a year ago.
In early January, Frontex estimated the number of illegal crossings into the European Union last year at 150,000, lowest since 2013.
The European Union has been experiencing a large-scale migration crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing crises in their home countries in the middle East and North Africa.