Between January and April 2022, around 57,800 irregular entries into the European Union were observed by the Frontex agency, according to preliminary calculations published in a statement on Monday 16 May.
According to the agency, this figure represents a 69% increase over the first four months of 2021, and does not include refugees fleeing Ukraine.
The Western Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean and Central Mediterranean migration routes were the most active during this period. The former accounted for almost half of all illegal border crossings, with 27,172 illegal crossings between January and April, an increase of 130% over last year.
The main nationalities on this route were Syrians and Afghans.
The number of detections on the Eastern Mediterranean route remained high, with 9,109 arrivals (+86%), linked to the steady number of arrivals in Cyprus, which accounted for more than half of all detections.
Most of the migrants here came from Syria, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
And 9,300 illegal crossings were recorded on the central Mediterranean route, about 4% more than in the same period of the previous year.
The main nationalities represented on this route were Egyptians, Bangladeshis and Tunisians.
Link to Frontex data: https://aeur.eu/f/1nq (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)