Irregular Crossings Into Europe Drop by 27% Year-on-Year in November

As many as 13,500 people have illegally crossed the border into Europe on the four main migratory routes in November, indicating a decrease of 27 percent compared to the previous year, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) said in a press release on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The four main migratory routes to the European Union are as follow: the Central Mediterranean (Italy), the Western Mediterranean (Spain), the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece) and the Western Balkans.

"In November, 13,500 irregular border crossings were detected on the four main migratory routes into the EU, 27% fewer than a year ago. The total number of migrants detected on these routes in the first eleven months of this year fell by 62% to around 186,500 from the same period in 2016," Frontex said in a press release.

The Central Mediterranean route was the most popular among migrants, with at least 5,300 people having arrived in Europe via the route in November, the press release added.

The lowest monthly number of migrants, or 500 people, was recorded on the Western Balkan route, which, according to Frontex, is explained by the region's close coordination of border control measures.

In recent years, Europe has been experiencing the worst immigration crisis in the 21st century, struggling to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants fleeing hostilities in the Middle East and North Africa.