Over one million sea arrivals reach Europe in 2015

UNHCR figures show over one million refugees and migrants reach Europe by sea in 2015, with almost 4,000 feared drowned.

Over one million refugees and migrants have fled to Europe by sea this year, many on board dangerously inadequate vessels run by people smugglers, according to figures just released by the UN Refugee Agency.

UNHCR’s latest figures show that some 1,000,573 people had reached Europe across the Mediterranean, mainly to Greece and Italy, in 2015. Of these, 3,735 were missing, believed drowned.

The landmark figure, which was reached late on December 29, also indicated that 84 per cent of those arriving in Europe came from the world’s top 10 refugee producing countries, strengthening UNHCR’s belief that most of the people arriving in Europe were fleeing war and persecution.