The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, reported this Wednesday a decrease of 34% in irregular migration in the West Africa region in the first quarter of 2025, and a decrease of 27% in the entire European Union in the same period.
Frontex indicated that the cases of irregular entry into the EU were approximately 47,000, of which 10,424 correspond to the Canary Islands area, a route where there was a significant reduction in arrivals.
The route that affects the Canary Islands registered a third fewer arrivals compared to the first quarter of last year.
During the month of April 2025, 977 irregular crossings were recorded on this route, and the Malian, Senegalese and Guinean nationalities were the most frequent.
Apart from West Africa, other routes also experienced declines in their migratory activity, although the Central Mediterranean remains the busiest, with 15,718 cases detected.
That number of cases represents a third of all arrivals to the EU this year, despite the slight decrease of 3% compared to the previous year.
The Western Balkans route experienced the largest drop, of 58% with 3,093 crossings.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, Frontex intervened on 12,228 occasions, with a decrease of 30%, in the Western Mediterranean there were 3,547 crossings, 10% less than in 2024, and the Eastern Land Border witnessed 1,829 irregular arrivals, with a drop of 37%.
On the other hand, attempts at irregular entries into the United Kingdom increased by 5% compared to the previous year, with a total of 18,120 crossings in the English Channel.
Maritime crossings remain the most dangerous. According to the International Organization for Migration, the UN agency dedicated to migration-related issues, 555 people lost their lives at sea in the first four months of this year, a figure well below the 2,300 deaths last year.
