Number of irregular migrants in Spain broke annual records already, official figures show
Over 46,800 irregular migrants arrived in Spain since Jan.1, says Interior Ministry
MADRID
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Spain through Nov. 15 has broken records, according to official figures.
A total of 46,862 irregular migrants entered the country in that period, up 62% on a year-on-year basis, the Interior Ministry said.
Most of them (45,707 irregular migrants) arrived by boat from the coast of North Africa.
Spain’s Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off northwest Africa, the most-used route, received 32,436 irregular migrants, up 118%.
The previous record of 2006 has already been broken, well before the end of 2023, the figures showed.
The route to the Canary Islands is among the deadliest for migrants worldwide. In the first half of the year, the NGO Walking Borders estimated that 778 people lost their lives.
* Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara
