Illegal border crossings on the Western Balkans route

The Western Balkan route is one of the main migratory paths into Europe. After the record number of arrivals in the European Union in 2015, the number of irregular migrants choosing this route fell steadily for a few years. However, since 2019 it has started to pick up again.

Many irregular migrants reaching the EU via the Western Balkans route, move from the EU member state in which they first arrived to another EU country. This results in high numbers of detections of irregular migrants and asylum applications in Europe.

The chart includes figures from 2009 up to March 2024. 

More information:

• EU migration policy (background information)
• Western Balkans route (background information)
• Western Balkans route (Frontex)