Skip to main content
News - 
Global

Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals in 2016 Near 135,000; Deaths Reach 418

Greece - IOM estimates that 134,905 migrants already have crossed the Mediterranean this year. Of these, 125,819 have reached the Greek islands. The remainder landed in Italy. Media reports indicate that arrivals to Spain in 2016 are fewer than 100.

Monthly arrivals in Greece have dipped slightly from the 67,415 recorded in January to 55,633 in February. Thus far in March, arrivals total just 2,771. IOM Athens reports that in the past 14 months since the start of 2015 the total number of sea-borne arrivals in Greece has reached 970,911. This suggests that the threshold of one million arrivals of migrants and refugees in Greece will be reached within the next two weeks.

IOM Athens reports that the Greek Asylum Service has announced that they received 1,171 asylum applications in January – 227 from Syrians, 66 from Iraqis, 52 from Yemenis and 43 from Eritreans – all nationalities fleeing places in the throes of violence and civil strife. Another 221 asylum applications were registered from Pakistan, 78 from Albania, 73 from Bangladesh and 55 from Georgia. 

Arrivals by sea and deaths in the Mediterranean

1 Jan – 3 Mar 2016

1 Jan – 31 Mar 2015

Country

Arrivals

Deaths

Arrivals

Deaths

Greece

125,819

321 (Eastern Med route)

10,535

505 (includes all Med routes)

Italy

9,086

97 (Central Med route)

10,165

Estimated total

134,905

418

20,700

505

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data on deaths of migrants compiled by IOM GMDAC. All numbers are minimum estimates.

Arrivals estimates based on data from respective governments and IOM field offices.

*as of 28 February 2016

 

Arrivals by sea and deaths in the Mediterranean 2015/2016

 

Country

Total 2014

Total 2015

1 Jan – 3 Mar 2016

Greece

34,442

853,650

125,819

Italy

170,100

153,842

9,086

 

 

  • No landings took place in Italy since our last report.
  • IOM staff is deployed at the main landing points in Sicily (including Lampedusa), Calabria and Apulia and provides legal assistance to those arriving by sea, monitors the reception conditions and supports the authorities in the identification of vulnerable groups.
  • Main Countries of Origin: Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Bangladesh, Ghana.
  • Main departure country: Libya (few departures from Egypt, Greece, and Turkey)

 

·         2,175 arrivals were registered in Greece on 2 March 2016. Numbers are not the actual daily arrivals, but the number of migrants who have officially been recorded by the Greek authorities after their arrival. This procedure may take a few days.
·         According to data collected by IOM staff on the Greek islands, out of the 62,193 who reached the Greek islands in January 2016, approximately 44 percent were male, 22 percent female and 34 percent children.
·         Main departure country: Turkey
·         Main landing points: the islands of Lesbos, Kos, Samos, Rhodes, Kalymnos, Megisti, Leros and Chios.
·         IOM staff is present in the islands of Crete, Samos, Kos and Lesvos, working closely with authorities to identify vulnerable migrants including unaccompanied minors, elderly migrants, migrants with medical needs and families with children. Vulnerable groups are referred to authorities in order to be provided with the necessary care.

 For the latest Mediterranean Update infographic please go to:
http://missingmigrants.iom.int/sites/default/files/Mediterranean_Update_4_March_2016.pdf

For latest arrivals and fatalities in the Mediterranean,please visit: http://migration.iom.int/europe 
Learn more about Missing Migrants Project at: http://missingmigrants.iom.int

For further information please contact: 
IOM Greece Daniel Esdras, Tel: +30 210 9912174, Email:  iomathens@iom.int
or Kelly Namia, Tel: +302109919040, +302109912174, Email: knamia@iom.int
In Italy: Flavio Di Giacomo, Tel: +39 347 089 8996, Email: fdigiacomo@iom.int
In FYRoM: Ivona Zakoska at IOM Skopje, Tel. +389 2 30 88 100, Ext. 133 Email: izakoska@iom.int
Or IOM Geneva, Leonard Doyle, Tel: +41-792857123, Email: ldoyle@iom.intor Joel Millman, Tel: + 41 79 103 87 20, Email: jmillman@iom.int

Share this page via:

Regions
Office type
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas (The)
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (the)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros (the)
Congo (the)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic (the)
East and Horn of Africa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Europe and Central Asia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia (the)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Global Office in Brussels
Global Office in Washington
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
IOM Office at the United Nations
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Manila Administrative Centre
Marshall Islands (the)
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Middle East and North Africa
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger (the)
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Panama Administrative Centre
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines (the)
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova (the)
Romania
Russian Federation (the)
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Subregional Office in Brussels
Subregional Office in Pretoria
Sudan (the)
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic (the)
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
West and Central Africa
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe