The number of illegal border crossings on the four main routes to the European Union has decreased by 43 percent during the first seven months of the year, according to a statement released on Monday by the European agency Frontex.
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The total number of recorded crossings was around 73,000, according to Frontex. In July, the number of crossings was 14,900, which is 18 percent lower compared to the same period last year.
More than half of the total crossings recorded in July occurred via the Western Mediterranean route, and in Spain, the number of migrants quadrupled compared to the previous year, reaching nearly 8,800 individuals.
A total of 23,100 crossings were recorded on the Western Mediterranean route, more than double that of last year. About three-quarters of the migrants on this route come from sub-Saharan Africa.
This increase is a significant counterbalance to the decline in the number of migrants on the Central Mediterranean route, where migration has decreased by 83 percent compared to July 2017.
The total number of migrants over the seven months, around 18,200, has decreased by 81 percent compared to the previous year.
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Meanwhile, migrant inflows on the Eastern Mediterranean route increased by 75 percent during the seven months, reaching a total of 29,500 individuals, while the waves of migrants in the Balkans remained moderate.
