With over 355,300 irregular border crossings from January to November 2023, the year 2023 witnessed a 17% increase in the number of detections of irregular border crossings, marking the highest value recorded since 2016. The largest increase was on the Western African route, the figure having doubled compared to previous years.

The Central Mediterranean route remained the busiest migratory route in 2023; it was the most perilous one with most missing individuals reported. Overall, 2511 individuals were reported missing in the Mediterranean in the period from January to November 2023.