Nearly 32,000 Migrants Cross Mediterranean Into Europe in 2017 - IOM

IOM reports that 31,993 migrants and refugees entered Europe by the Mediterranean Sea in 2017 through 9 April, with over 80 percent arriving in Italy and the rest in Spain and Greece.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Nearly 32,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach European states, mainly Italy, since the start of this year, compared to more than 170,000 migrants over the same period in 2016, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday.

"IOM reports that 31,993 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 9 April, with over 80 percent arriving in Italy and the rest in Spain and Greece. This compares with 172,774 through the first 97 days of 2016," the organizations said in a statement.

Despite the significant drop of the migrants' arrivals, the number of deaths at the sea has remained nearly the same, as 559 migrants died trying to reach Europe in the first 91 days of 2017, while 554 deaths were reported in 2016, IOM’s Missing Migrants Project showed.

The European Union has experienced a massive refugee influx over recent years. Hundreds of thousands of people have been fleeing violence in the Middle East and North Africa to seek asylum in European Union member states.