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Mixed Migration Flows in the Mediterranean: Compilation of available data and information (April 2018)

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World
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IOM
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HIGHLIGHTS

DTM Flow Monitoring data shows that an estimated 30,971 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe between January and April 2018 using different sea and land routes. This represents a 39 per cent decrease when compared to the 50,400 registered in the same period in 2017. Almost half of all migrants and refugees registered this year arrived in Greece (14,352). Italian authorities reported that 9,467 migrants and refugees who attempted to cross the Central Mediterranean were rescued and brought to Sicily and coastal areas in the South of Italy. Another 6,690 individuals arrived in Spain through the Western Mediterranean route. The remaining 462 migrants and refugees were registered in Bulgaria and Cyprus.

Aside from Spain and Greece, all countries saw a decrease in the number of overall arrivals this year when compared to 2017. In Spain, authorities registered 10 per cent more migrants than in 2017 (6,690 versus 6,104). The increase is more significant when looking at the data available for Greece where authorities reported the arrival of 14,352 new migrants and refugees this year, more than double to the 5,771 registered between January and April 2017.

Available data on the nationalities of the migrants and refugees who arrived in Greece and Italy, two main entry points in the Mediterranean, indicate some changes in the nationality structure of the registered population between the first four months of 2017 and 2018. Looking at the top five registered nationality groups in Greece reveals that an estimated third of the migrants and refugees were Syrian nationals in both 2017 (36%) and 2018 (37%). The differences in the nationality structures between the two years, however, become evident in the second largest group, Iraqi nationals, whose proportion of the overall caseload differs between years. In 2017, 10 per cent of the migrants were of Iraqi origin while in 2018 this increased to 27 per cent.

The most significant difference in terms of the nationality breakdown of migrants and refugees arriving in Italy is related to the presence of migrants and refugees who declared Tunisian nationality. At the end of April 2017, migrants from Tunisia were not registered among the top ten nationality groups. One year later, at the end of April 2018, Tunisian nationals were the largest registered nationality comprising 20 per cent of the overall arrivals. In contrast to that, a decrease was observed in registered arrivals of Nigerian nationals. Between January and April 2017, migrants and refugees from Nigeria were the first registered nationality comprising 14% of the overall arrivals (3,337 individuals). This year, a total of 495 registered Nigerian nationals comprised 7% of the overall arrivals.

The increase in the number of arrivals through the Eastern Mediterranean route might have triggered an observed increase in secondary movements through the Western Balkans. This is especially noted in Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Authorities in these three countries registered over 6,700 migrants and refugees between January and April 2018, which is almost three times more than the 2,600 registered in the same period in 2017. The available nationality breakdowns for these countries indicate that Syria was the most common country of origin, especially for those migrants and refugees registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Albania and Montenegro authorities also registered a significant percentage of migrants and refugees from Pakistan and Algeria.