Brussels – According to preliminary data published today (May 13) by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, some 47,000 irregular crossings were recorded at the EU’s external borders in the first four months of 2025. The figure marks a 27 per cent drop compared to 2024, a trend experienced on all major migration routes to the EU. The Balkan route, in particular, recorded the most significant drop in arrivals in January–April.
The Central Mediterranean, the one involving arrivals in Italy and still the number one route to Europe for the influx of irregular migrants, recorded 15.718 crossings (one-third of the total in the EU), marking a slight decrease of about 3 per cent, compared to the same period last year. More favourable weather conditions, however, favoured increased landings between March and April 2025.
The Eastern Mediterranean, the second largest route by volume, continues to experience a decrease, with about 12,228 detections, representing a 30 per cent drop compared to the previous year.
The Western Balkans route, which had been the most active in 2022 and 2023, in turn saw a sharp decrease: 3.093 crossings detected between January and April, a 58 per cent drop year-on-year. In West Africa, detections were 10,424, 34 per cent less than in 2024. Still, the route remains among the most frequently used, mainly by Malian, Senegalese, and Guinean nationals.
More restrained are the numbers on the other routes: in the Western Mediterranean detections decreased by 10 per cent (3.547 crossings) while on the route through the Eastern Border of the EU, a decline of 31 per cent is observed (with about 1,800 crossings), in line with the gradual decline that occurred in 2024. The number of deaths at sea across the Mediterranean is also declining. As reported by the World Organisation for Migration, there were 555 between January and April, well below the 2,300 during the same period in 2024.
With regard to nationalities, the most frequent countries of origin in the surveys conducted during this period were Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Mali.
A sharply contrasting figure concerns the irregular crossings of the English Channel to the UK: while landings were down until March (11.200, 4 per cent less than in 2024), nearly 7,000 irregular migrants reached British shores in April, bringing the number of landings to about 18,120 (a 5 per cent increase over the first four months of 2024).
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
