Background information: Where do European refugees come from?

Europe is currently facing the worst refugee tide since World War II. According to the latest data of UNHCR, 380,000 people have entered Europe through the Mediterranean this year. According to the statistics of the International Organization for Migration, by September 10, the total number of refugees and immigrants entering Europe through the Mediterranean has exceeded 430,000. In addition, a large number of refugees entered Europe by land.

The Mediterranean Sea is located between Europe, Africa and the Asian continent, and going to Italy, Greece and Spain via the Mediterranean Sea has become an important channel for refugees to enter Europe. According to the data of the International Organization for Migration, about 70% of these refugees and immigrants entered Greece via the Mediterranean, about 28% entered Italy, and a small number entered Spain. After arriving in the European continent, they traveled to rich European countries such as Germany, Sweden, Britain and France.

Refugees and immigrants entering Europe by sea mainly come from war-torn countries in the Middle East and Asia, such as Syria and Afghanistan, as well as countries in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, such as Libya and Eritrea, which are plagued by war and poverty.

War refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other countries

The people who arrived in Greece via the Mediterranean were mainly war refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

According to the data released by the International Organization for Migration, among about 246,000 refugees and immigrants registered in Greece in the first eight months of this year, Syria has the largest number, reaching175,000, followed by Afghans (50,000), Pakistanis (1. 1.000) and Iraqis (9,000).

After arriving in Greece, these refugees usually go to Western Europe via the Balkans, go north to Europe along the "golden route" of Greece-Macedonia-Serbia-Hungary, and then go west to Germany and other countries.

Refugees and illegal immigrants from Africa

The refugees and immigrants who went to Italy via the Mediterranean mainly came from Libyan, Egyptian, Tunisia and sub-Saharan African countries in North Africa, including some refugees from the Middle East. They usually choose to sneak into Italy by boat from Libya or Tunisia, and a few choose to sneak into Spain from North Africa.

According to the data released by the International Organization for Migration, in the first eight months of this year, Italy registered more than 1 1.6 million refugees and immigrants, 3% more than the same period last year. The main countries of origin of refugees and immigrants are Eritrea (30,000), Nigeria (65,438+500,000), Somalia (8,800), Sudan (765,438+0,000), Syria (6,700) and Gambia (5,500). More than 2000 refugees and immigrants arrived in Spain via the Mediterranean.

For many years, due to war and poverty, sub-Saharan African countries have been the main source of illegal immigrants in Europe. In recent years, after the unrest in Arab countries in North Africa, Libya, Egypt and Tunisia have become important sources of refugees and illegal immigrants. At the same time, due to the out-of-control security situation and management paralysis in Libya, a large number of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries used Libya as a transit point and sneaked into European countries across the Mediterranean.

Economic refugees in the Balkans

In addition to the refugees and immigrants who entered Europe by sea, there are also a large number of economic refugees from Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia in the western Balkans. They entered western European countries by land. According to official German data, as of the end of July this year, economic refugees from the western Balkans and the former Yugoslavia accounted for about 42% of German refugee applications. However, economic refugees are usually regarded as illegal refugees or illegal immigrants by the countries concerned, and are expelled or repatriated.