Over 4 million migrants have come to Europe illegally since 2015.
82% confidence
MigrationEuropean Union
Omissions
The figure refers to 'detections of irregular border crossings' not unique individuals - some migrants may be counted multiple times if they attempt crossing more than once
The data represents detections at EU external borders, not total migrants who successfully entered and remained in the EU illegally
The MEP used the term 'illegally' but Frontex officially uses 'irregular' to describe these crossings
Data for 2026 is partial as the session date is January 21, 2026
The figure includes multiple border crossing attempts by the same individuals, so the actual number of distinct persons is lower than the total number of detections