On 13 February 2023, Frontex published the figures for irregular border crossings in the year 2022. With around 330,000 detected, irregular border crossings, the figure is the highest since 2016. In addition, the number had increased by 64% compared to 2021. Between 24 February 2022 and the end of 2022, almost 13 million Ukrainian refugees were counted on entry at the EU's external land borders from Ukraine and Moldova. In the same period, 10 million Ukrainian nationals were reported exiting at the same border sections. These numbers are not included in the figures mentioned above.

According to Frontex, 45% of all irregular entries in 2022 occurred via the Western Balkans. The Western Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean routes also saw the highest increase ever. Nationals of Syria, Afghanistan, and Tunisia were most frequently reported to have irregularly crossed or attempted to cross the EU's external borders.