The arrival of migrant people to the coasts of the Canary Islands in the first half of August remains stable compared to previous months, with 834 people in 12 boats, according to the balance published biweekly by the Ministry of the Interior.
In July, a total of 2,213 people arrived on the islands, in line with June. High figures but far from those reached at the beginning of the year, when 7,270 and 4,662 immigrants arrived in the archipelago in January and February, respectively, after crossing what is considered one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world.
In the accumulated, until August 15, 22,304 people have arrived in the Canary Islands, 126.1% more than in the same period of 2023, when 9,864 had arrived, an increase mainly motivated by the rebound at the beginning of the year.
On the other hand, the irregular arrivals of immigrants to the coasts of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands follow the trend of July and continue to rise, with 1,033 people arriving in the first half of August, a figure that far exceeds the previous months.
From August 1 to 15, 1,033 people arrived on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in 72 precarious boats, while in the entire month of July 1,698 arrived and in all previous months the thousand had not been reached.
However, the figures for arrivals to the peninsula and the Balearic Islands from January 1 to August 15 are still 11% lower than those of last year at this point.
In total, so far in 2024, 31,155 people have arrived in Spain irregularly, 66.2% more than in the same period last year, when 18,745 had done so. Most have done so by sea, 29,512 in 908 boats.
Arrivals by sea to the autonomous cities have decreased from the beginning of the year to August 15: from 33 to 17 in Ceuta and from 104 to 7 in Melilla.
Regarding the people who irregularly access Spain by land, including those who do so by swimming, in this fortnight the arrivals to Ceuta have substantially increased: in just 15 days 251 people have arrived when in all of July 200 did so and in June, 98.
In the accumulated, it is more than double what had been counted last year in the same period: 1,605 compared to 587.
In the case of Melilla, on the other hand, entries by land have decreased compared to 2023, from 89 to 38 in these first seven and a half months.
