00:00How has irregular migration to the EU changed in 2025?
00:08Irregular entries into the European Union decreased by 22% in the first nine months of 2025.
00:15This is according to data released by the bloc's border agency, Frontex.
00:20The sharpest declines were registered on the Western African route,
00:24which saw a 58% drop in irregular crossings on the Western Balkan route,
00:29down by 47%, and on the eastern land border routes, down by 36%.
00:36However, other routes saw increases.
00:38The Central Mediterranean is the busiest route,
00:41accounting for nearly 40% of all irregular entries this year.
00:46Libya is the main departure point for this route,
00:48recording a 50% increase in departures compared with 2024.
00:53On the Western Mediterranean route, irregular crossings increased by 28%,
00:58with the month of September alone seeing arrivals rise by more than half.
01:02Departures from Algeria accounted for almost three-quarters of detections on this route this year.
01:08Despite the overall decline, human costs remain high.
01:11In 2025, more than 1,000 migrants died or went missing while using the Mediterranean routes,
01:18with the Central Mediterranean route being the most fatal of them.
01:22Many migrants have tried to travel legally and opted to travel irregularly only after their visas were denied.
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