Illegal crossings into Europe drop, but migrant deaths at sea continue

Irregular entries into the European Union fell by 22 percent in the first nine months of 2025, but dangerous migration routes — especially across the Mediterranean — continue to claim many lives.

According to a new report by the EU border agency Frontex, published by Euronews Persian, the number of illegal entries recorded in the first nine months of 2025 dropped to 133,400 — 22 percent lower than the same period last year.

The sharpest decline was recorded along the West Africa route, where illegal crossings fell by 58 percent, with only 734 detections reported in September.

The Western Balkan route and the EU’s eastern land borders also saw declines — 47 percent and 36 percent respectively.

However, experts caution that the decrease does not reflect a reduction in global migration overall.

Helena Hahn, an analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC), told Euronews Persian: “Displacement and the number of people forced to flee continue to rise; the only difference is that fewer migrants are coming to Europe compared to the period after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The Central Mediterranean remains the busiest and deadliest migration route, accounting for around 40 percent of all irregular entries.

Libya remains the main departure point, and data shows the number of migrants leaving the country has risen by 50 percent compared with last year.

The Western Mediterranean route has also seen a 28 percent rise in arrivals, mostly involving migrants departing from Algeria.

Despite the overall decline in irregular entries, the human toll remains high. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that at least 1,328 people have died or gone missing on sea routes in the Mediterranean — 895 of them on the Central Mediterranean route alone.

Many of those lost at sea were driven to take dangerous paths after their legal visa applications were rejected.

Behind every missing migrant, the IOM report notes, are “families and communities struggling with the absence of their loved ones.”