REFUGEES & MIGRANTS SEA ARRIVALS IN EUROPE Nigeria Top the list
In 2015 and in the first half of 2016, an increasing number of people risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of safety. More than 1 million people arrived by boats in 2015 and more than 230,000 people in the first six months of 2016. A 69 per cent come from the world’s top 10 refugee-producing countries.
Some 153,842 people arrived in Italy in the whole of 2015, including some 70,354 people in the first six months of 2015. These figures remained almost the same by comparing with the 70,222 arrivals between January and June 2016. In 2016, the highest number of people arriving in Italy were in June (22,317) compared to January (5,273) and February (3,828).
The vast majority of arrivals to Italy are from Nigeria (17.3%), Eritrea (12.6%), Gambia (8.1%) and Côte d’Ivoire (7.5%). The portion of Syrian (0.3%), Iraqi (0.2%) and Afghan (0.2%) arrivals remain very low. Nigeria (12,163) and Eritrea (8,815) were the top nationalities of sea arrivals.
MONTHLY DATA UPDATE: JUNE 2016
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
