Greece  - Since the beginning of 2016, IOM estimates that 45,361 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece by sea. This is roughly 31 times as many as the 1,472 recorded by the Greek Coast Guard for the whole of January 2015.

Some 90 per cent of the new arrivals are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – the three countries whose nationals are allowed to pass freely from Greece into the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) en route to Western Europe.

According to IOM’s Early Warning Information Sharing Network, implemented by IOM missions in Greece and the Western Balkans, an estimated 38,876 Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis crossed into the FYROM in the two weeks ending January 21st, nearly 47 per cent fewer than in the preceding two weeks.

IOM Greece also helped almost 400 stranded economic migrants to return home to their countries of origin as part of its Assisted Voluntary Return program. Most of the migrants were from Morocco, Iran and Georgia.

The death toll in the Mediterranean continues to rise. With a series of shipwreck fatalities since Friday, IOM has tracked over 150 deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean this year, along with 19 more in the Central Mediterranean, bringing the total number of deaths in 2016 to 177. Last year at this time there were fewer than 77.

The journey from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands continues to be the deadliest route. The Greek  Coast Guard reported that at least 45 migrants lost their lives in three incidents off Lesbos (20/01), Farmakonisi (21/01) and Kalolymnos (21/01). They included 18 children.

There is increased activity in the Central Mediterranean in the past week. On Sunday 723 migrants were rescued at sea and brought to the Italian port of Trapani. One body was also brought ashore.

Mediterranean Developments: Arrivals by sea and deaths 1 - 25 January 2016

Data on deaths of migrants compiled by IOM RESEARCH. All numbers are minimum estimates. Arrivals estimates based on data from respective governments and IOM field offices.

Of the estimated 45,361 arrivals in Greece in 2016, the authorities have so far registered 75 per cent (34,185). By nationality they include: 
TOP COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
SYRIA                                   16,318  
AFGHANISTAN                    9,825  
IRAQ                                                        4,801  
IRAN                                                        1,140  
PAKISTAN                                                990  

ALL COUNTRIES
AFGHANISTAN                 9,825  
ALGERIA                            53  
BANGLADESH                    87  
BRAZIL                               1  
BURUNDI                            1  
CAMEROON                      14  
CONGO                                41  
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   20  
EGYPT                                 63  
ERITREA             14  
ETHIOPIA            20  
GAMBIA              1  
GEORGIA             1  
INDIA                   18  
IRAN                    1,140  
IRAQ                    4,801  
IVORY COAST   1  
JORDAN               2  
LEBANON            52  
LIBYA                  105  
MALI                    16  
MOROCCO          104  
NEPAL                  5  
NIGERIA              10  
PAKISTAN           990  
PALESTINE         323  
SAUDI ARABIA  5  
SENEGAL             3  
SOMALIA            77  
SRI LANKA         34  
SUDAN                 6  
SYRIA                   16,318  
TUNISIA               12  
TURKEY               10  
WESTERN SAHARA         5  
YEMEN                7  
TOTAL                 34,185  

   
*Data are based on communications between the Hellenic Coast Guard and IOM relating to arrivals in Greece through maritime borders from January 1st, 2016 to January 17th, 2016.

For the latest updates on migrant arrivals and fatalities in the Mediterranean please visit: http://migration.iom.int/europe

Missing Migrants Project, which draws on a range of sources to track deaths of migrants along migratory routes worldwide, is managed by IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) in Berlin, Germany.

You can learn more about and support Missing Migrants Project at: http://missingmigrants.iom.int

For further information please contact IOM Greece. Daniel Esdras, Tel: +30 210 9912174, Email:  iomathens@iom.int or Kelly Namia, Tel: +302109919040, +302109912174, Email: knamia@iom.int
Or Flavio Di Giacomo at IOM Italy, Tel: +39 347 089 8996, Email: fdigiacomo@iom.int
Or IOM Geneva, Leonard Doyle, Tel: +41-792857123, Email: ldoyle@iom.int