IZACIC, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The U.N. migration agency says that so far this year Spain has received more migrants via the Mediterranean Sea than it did in the previous three years combined.
The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration reported Tuesday that 45,145 men, women and children entered Spain through the western Mediterranean route through Oct. 21.
That was almost half of the more than 94,000 migrants who have this year entered Europe by sea from North Africa and came amid a migrant crackdown by countries in the eastern Mediterranean.
The U.N. agency says total arrivals are significantly down on recent years, with almost 147,000 recorded by this point last year and just over 324,000 in 2016.
The Mediterranean continues to be a deadly route for migrants trying to enter Europe illegally, with 1,857 deaths reported so far this year.
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