Number Of Migrants Arriving In Europe By Sea Down 34% From 2018 - IOM

This year has seen just over 34,000 migrants arriving in Europe by sea, a one-third drop in comparison to the previous year, and almost 700 migrants die, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) This year has seen just over 34,000 migrants arriving in Europe by sea, a one-third drop in comparison to the previous year, and almost 700 migrants die, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a press release on Friday.

"The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 34,226 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through 17 July, roughly a 34 per cent decrease from the 51,782 arriving during the same period last year ... Deaths recorded on the three main Mediterranean Sea routes through 199 days of 2019 are at 683 individuals - or around 47 per cent of the total (1,449 deaths) confirmed during the same period in 2018," the press release said.

As of July 17, Greece has received 16,292 migrants by sea this year, the most of any Mediterranean state, followed by Spain with about 12,064 arrivals.

Since 2015, Europe has been experiencing its worst migration crisis in recent history, struggling to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants fleeing hostilities in middle Eastern and North African countries.