The number of immigrants to Europe rose “significantly” last year outside

The number of migrants who crossed the EU's external borders unchecked last year rose “significantly” compared to the previous year. This was reported by the European border control agency Frontex on Tuesday.

Agency statistics show that about 10 percent of migrants are women and 10 percent are children. Overall, the number of migrants crossing the border into Europe rose by 17 percent compared to 2022. According to Frontex, this is the highest level since 2016, with 380,000 people crossing.

The Border Protection Service points out that the numbers are not accurate. This is because people may often be counted out if they try to return to the EU in different places. It is therefore impossible to say exactly how many migrants crossed into Europe last year.

Many migrants want to travel to the UK after entering Europe, but this happened last year less than the year before. Frontex notes a 12 percent decline here. “The figures show an increasing challenge in managing the EU's external borders,” the Frontex head said.

2,500 EU employees are now working at European external borders through Frontex, in addition to cross-border workers from EU member states. They not only help in border control, but also help detect human smugglers, among other things.