A total of 56,852 immigrants attempted to enter Spain irregularly in 2023 by sea and land, which represents an increase of 82.1% compared to the previous year, according to data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.
The balance released this Wednesday by that ministry highlights that only on the coasts of the Canary Islands there were 39,910 immigrants arriving irregularly, a 154.5% more than in 2022.
It is a figure also higher than that recorded in 2006, when the Spanish Atlantic archipelago experienced the so-called “cayuco crisis” and 39,180 foreigners arrived in Spain in precarious boats.
Overall, irregular immigration by sea increased by 92.3% en Spain, up to 55,618 people, while the number of immigrants arriving in the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla – in North Africa – by land fell to 1,234 a 46% less.
By land, the greatest migratory pressure was greater in Ceuta (1,068 foreigners) than in Melilla (166).
Despite the skyrocketing figures in this balance, the 2023 data is below the record reached in 2018, when almost 64,300 foreigners were detected trying to enter Spain irregularly.
That year, the vast majority (57,498) also used precarious boats (pateras and cayucos) to reach Spain, but the main destination then was not the Canary Islands, but the coasts of the Andalusia region, in the south of Spain.
Source: Gestion
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