710 000 migrants entered EU in first nine months of 2015

The total number of migrants who crossed the EU’s external borders in the first nine months of this year rose to more than 710 000 with the Greek islands on the Aegean continuing to be the most affected by the unprecedented inflow of people. This compares with 282 000 recorded in all of last year.

In the month of September, the number of detections at EU’s external borders stood at 170 000 last month compared to 190 000 recorded in August.

The Greek islands, especially Lesbos, continued to face a massive migratory pressure, with the number of detections in the January-September period reaching 350 000. In September, the number of people detected in the Eastern Mediterranean region was mostly flat at nearly 49 000. Syrian refugees remained the dominant nationality among the arriving migrants.

Due to an increasing shortage of boats in Libya and worsening weather conditions, the number of migrants arriving in Italy halved in the month of September to 12 000. This brought the figure for the first nine months of the year to nearly 129 000. Eritreans were the most numerous among the people using this route.

Full article available here:  http://frontex.europa.eu/news/710-000-migrants-entered-eu-in-first-nine-months-of-2015-NUiBkk