More than 60,000 migrants arrived irregularly in Spain throughout 2024 and nearly eight out of ten did so to the Canary Islands. The Ministry of the Interior published this Thursday the latest figures for arrivals by sea and land, which show the highest figure in the last five years and confirm the record of arrivals by sea already broken before the end of the year. with data that almost doubles that of 2006when the so-called cayuco crisis occurred.
According to the annual balance, until December 31, a total of 63,970 immigrants arrived in Spain irregularly, that is, 12.5% more than those registered in 2023 and double the 31,219 that arrived by sea and land two years ago, in 2022. The vast majority of arrivals (61,323) occurred by sea, with the Canary Islands route being the predominant one, with unprecedented numbers in its history.
The report estimates that 46,843 migrants arrived in canoes to the archipelago throughout 2024 on board 692 boats, which represents an increase of 17.4% compared to the previous year and of 198% compared to the 15,682 arrivals to the Canary Islands in 2022. Only in the last fortnight of the year more than 3,000 migrants arrived.
Although the number of arrivals by sea throughout the country does show a historical maximum, The sum of both figures (arrivals by sea and by land) remains slightly below the record recorded in 2018, with 64,298 arrivals (328 less than 2024). And this is mainly due to the fact that 14,431 migrants arrived in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands via the Mediterranean route, which is 6.5% less than the 15,435 in 2023.
Also In 2024, Ceuta registered a significant increase in arrivals by land: 137% more in just one year, with 2,531 migrants; while in Melilla the annual figure is 30% less (116).
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