Mediterranean Routes

The Mediterranean Sea remains the most used and best understood maritime migration route in the world, with 142,324 people arriving in Europe in 2024. The Mediterranean routes are complex, with most migrants and refugees making long journeys overland before reaching coastal countries of departure. Some migrants and refugees, moreover, may make more than one maritime crossing, such as moving by sea across the Mediterranean, by land through Continental Europe, and then the English Channel. They may also face several failed attempts before reaching a place of safety.

There are three Mediterranean routes (below figures courtesy of IOM):  

• The Central Mediterranean route, primarily between Libya and Tunisia in North Africa and Italy and Malta in Europe, is often the most heavily utilized, with 66,855 people travelling in 2024.  

• The Eastern Mediterranean route, which often sees migrants leaving Turkey for Greece, Bulgaria or Italy or refugees departing from Lebanon or Syria for Europe, increased as a share of Mediterranean movements, with 60,989 people moving in 2024.

• The Western Mediterranean route, with migrants and refugees departing Morocco or Algeria for Spain, with 14,480 people moving in 2024.  

The English Channel is another maritime route between European countries, in this case France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Despite being an intra-European route, the English Channel has seen an increase in movements since 2023, with 36,816 migrants and refugees making the crossing in 2024.  

The ocean/sea crossings are dangerous in the extreme. Refugees and migrants travel in small watercraft, often inflatable boats, iron boats or traditional pirogues. The Central Mediterranean Sea route can be a journey of more than 400 km depending on point of departure while the Western African Atlantic route can stretch more than 1,000 km from Senegal to the Canary Islands, involving many days or even weeks at sea. Some boats have drifted as far as the Caribbean.

The situation on land, however, is often just as harrowing. The United Nations has documented serious abuse and torture of migrants and refugees in Libya and organizations such as Human Rights Watch have

identified systematic discrimination against migrants and refugees in Tunisia. Turkey, Algeria and Morocco, while generally safer than Libya, have been criticized by some organizations for not offering sufficient protections for refugees.  

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