Channel crossings by migrants in small boats: key figures

Here are some of the key statistics for people arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel on small boats:

– How many migrants have arrived so far this year?

A total of 33,684 people have been detected crossing the Channel on small boats since the start of 2024, according to provisional figures from the Interior Ministry.

This is 18% more than the 28,453 people who arrived at this stage (until December 1) last year, but 24% less than the 44,174 who arrived at this stage in 2022.

Some 45,774 arrivals were reported across the whole of 2022: the highest number for a calendar year since data on Channel crossings began in 2018.

The total for 2023, 29,437, was more than a third (36%) lower.

More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the Channel since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister.

Some 122 migrants were detected crossing the border on Sunday, meaning 20,110 have arrived since Labor won the July 5 general election.

The 20,000 figure was adopted on the 150th day of Sir Keir’s term in office.

In contrast, 11,309 migrants arrived in the first 150 days of Rishi Sunak’s term, with 20,000 not joining until Mr Sunak’s 257th day in office.

– How many people cross by boat?

The average has been on an upward trend since the start of 2021.

In 2018 there were fewer than 10 people per boat, while in 2019 and 2020 this figure tended to fluctuate between single digits and high digits.

Starting in 2021, the average began to increase, reaching 20 in March and exceeding 30 in August.

It reached 40 people per boat in June 2022, exceeded 50 per boat in July 2023 and climbed to 59 per boat in July 2024.

This figure has since decreased slightly, to 55 per boat in August, September and October this year, and to 54 in November.

– Where do people come from?

Afghan migrants made up the largest group of arrivals in the first nine months of this year, accounting for 17% of the total.

Next come the Vietnamese (13%), Iranians (12%) and Syrians (12%).

These are the latest figures available for the nationality of arrivals.

The distribution of nationalities this year is different from that of 2023.

Vietnamese migrants made up just 5% of last year’s total, well below this year’s figure of 13%.

Afghans were the leading nationality in 2023, accounting for 19% of all arrivals, slightly higher than this year’s figure of 17%.

In 2022, Vietnam accounted for only 1% of arrivals and Afghanistan 20%, while the main nationality was Albanian, who accounted for 28% of the total.

In contrast, only 2% of arrivals between January and September this year were Albanian.

– Why has the mix of nationalities changed?

Following a rise in the summer of 2022 in the number of Albanians arriving in the UK on small boats, the two countries’ governments have reached an agreement to work together to stop people making the journey.

This included the placement of UK Border Force personnel at Tirana Airport in Albania’s capital, an exchange of senior police officers and the creation of a joint migration task force.

This is likely to have contributed to the sharp decline in the number of Albanians arriving by small boats, from 12,658 in 2022 to 927 in 2023, a drop of 93%.

In response to increased arrivals of Vietnamese nationals this year, the then Conservative government signed a deal with Vietnam in April 2024 to step up efforts to discourage illegal travel to the UK.

The two countries committed to developing a joint action plan to combat human trafficking, as well as increasing intelligence sharing and raising awareness about legal migration routes.

The diversity of nationalities of people arriving on small boats varies from year to year.

For example, Iranians and Iraqis together accounted for more than half of arrivals in 2021 (30% and 22%, respectively).

But since then, the proportion of arrivals from Iran has declined sharply, to 13% in 2022 and 2023 and to 12% from January to September 2024.

The proportion of arrivals from Iraq fell further, falling to 10% in 2022, 9% in 2023 and 7% in the first nine months of this year.

All figures are based on the total number of arrivals whose nationality has been recorded by the Home Office.

– How many requested asylum?

The latest available data from the Home Office on asylum applications made by small boat arrivals extends until September 2024.

It shows that in the year to September 30, 2024, almost all arrivals (99%) applied for asylum, either as a principal applicant or as a dependent.

Small boat arrivals accounted for almost three in 10 (28%) of the total number of people seeking asylum in the UK during this period.

Between January 2018 and June 2024, 128,503 asylum applications were submitted from small boats, of which 48% (62,313) had received a first decision by October 11, 2024.

Of these, 43,464 were granted asylum or other protective status, while 18,849 were denied.

The asylum grant rate for the year until September 2024 varied significantly between nationalities.

Among the 10 most common nationalities, the grant rate was highest for applications from Syrians, Sudanese (both 99%), and Eritreans (93%), and lowest for Albanians (2 %) and Turks (23%).

– How many were sent back to their country of origin?

Some 4,420 migrants who arrived by small boat were returned between January 2018 and September 2024, or 3% of the total number of arrivals.

In the year to September 2024, 2,376 arrivals were returned, compared to 1,551 in the previous 12 months.

Nearly nine in ten (87%) small boat returns in the year to September were Albanian nationals.

– How many migrants have died trying to cross the Channel?

Around fifty deaths have been recorded this year by the French coast guard.

These are people who died while trying to cross the Channel aboard a small boat.

Another 22 migrants heading to the United Kingdom died in northern France and Belgium, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration.