MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2023) The number of illegal border crossings into European Union countries in 2022 was the highest since 2016, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) said on Friday.
"In 2022, around 330 000 irregular border crossings were detected at EU's external border, according to preliminary calculations. This is the highest number since 2016 and an increase of 64% from the previous year," the statement said.
The 2020 recession caused by the pandemic led to a sharp increase in the number of illegal border crossings for two years in a row, Frontex noted.
"The Western Balkan route accounted for nearly half of the total. Syrians, Afghans and Tunisians together accounted for 47% of the detections in 2022. The number of Syrians roughly doubled to 94 000," the statement said.
The share of women was the lowest, accounting for less than one in ten illegal border crossings, the border agency said. The share of minors amounted to about 9% of the detections.
Nearly 13 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived at the EU's external borders from Ukraine and Moldova since the beginning of Russia's special military operation. They have not been included in these figures, Frontex said.
