The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) said in a report that the Central Mediterranean route saw the biggest drop in the number of illegal migrants in 2019.
"There were nearly 150 migrants detected on this route, a fall of 73% compared to December and 96% compared to January 2018." FRONTEX explained.
It added that Bangladeshis and Tunisians were the most represented nationalities reaching Italy in January.
"In the first month of 2019, the number of detections of illegal border crossings on Europe’s main migratory routes fell by a third compared to December to 6.760. The total was a fifth less than in January 2018." FRONTEX indicated.
It also said that the Western Mediterranean route remained under the most intensive migratory pressure, accounting for more than half of the irregular migrants reaching Europe in January.
"In the first month of the year, the number of detections on this route fell 18% from the previous month to nearly 3 780. However, this is more than double the figure from January 2018." FRONTEX said.
It further explained that the number of migrants taking the Eastern Mediterranean route in January fell 44% from the previous month to close to 2 540, although the figure was 10% higher than a year ago.
"Nationals of Afghanistan, who mainly arrived by sea, and Turkey, who mostly crossed the land border, accounted for more than half of the detections in this region." FRONTEX remarked.
Similar reports said earlier that migratory routes via Morocco toward Spain had seen some boost after strict measures prevailed on the Libya-Italy route, leading to a sharp drop in arrival numbers of illegal immigrants via the Central Mediterranean.
