Attachments
GENERAL OVERVIEW
In 2023, an estimated 212,100 attempts by migrants and refugees to cross the central Mediterranean Sea from Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia to Europe were reported. This was a 52% increase compared to known attempts in 2022 and marks the highest number since 2017. Of those who attempted to depart in 2023, 71% (151,500 persons) were disembarked in Europe, while 29% (60,600 persons) were intercepted or rescued and disembarked in North Africa (21% in Tunisia, 8% in Libya).
Based on EU asylum data for relevant nationalities, UNHCR estimates that some 27% of those who arrived in Europe via the central Mediterranean Sea in 2023 may have been in need of international protection.
Arrivals to Italy through the central Mediterranean Sea in 2023 stood at 150,273 individuals, a 73% increase compared to 2022. The majority of these arrivals were rescued by Italian authorities, some arrivals were spontaneous (i.e., arrived on their own), and according to the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), about 14,090 persons (9% of the total arrivals) were rescued by Search and Rescue (SAR) NGOs and subsequently disembarked in Italy in 2023.
In 2023, Italy witnessed a significant increase in sea arrivals from Tunisia, surpassing those from Libya. Concurrently, there was a notable rise in nationals of West and Central Africa from January until September, when the number of Tunisian nationals increased. While non-Tunisians represented only 43% of sea arrivals to Italy from Tunisia in 2022, in 2023 they accounted for 82%. Predominantly, the main nationalities arriving in Italy in 2023 included nationals from Guinea, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Bangladesh, Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Mali, and Sudan. Guinean, Tunisian, Ivorian, Burkinabe, Malian, and Sudanese nationals departed mainly from Tunisia while Bangladeshi, Egyptian, Syrian, and Pakistani nationals departed mainly from Libya.