The number of irregular border crossings to the EU has decreased by 42 percent during the first nine months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the EU's border agency Frontex, which were released on Tuesday.
A total of 166,000 such border crossings were detected during the period.
The border crossings decreased the most via the Western Balkans and the Central Mediterranean. They decreased by 79 percent to 17,000 crossings, respectively 64 percent to 47,700.
But there are exceptions – on certain routes, an increased traffic can be seen. This applies, among other things, to the West African route, where the number of crossings has more than doubled to over 30,600 in the past nine months. At the EU's eastern land borders, an increase of 192 percent was seen, to nearly 13,200 crossings.
Irregular migration means that people from countries outside the EU move across the EU's borders without fulfilling the legal requirements for entry, residence, or settlement in one or more EU countries.
Corrected: An earlier version contained an incorrect figure regarding previous border crossings.
