Overview
Between 1 and 31 January 2018, 4,189 persons arrived in Italy by sea. This is a modest decrease of 6% if compared to sea arrivals in the same period last year (4,467). In recent years, monthly arrivals were comparatively lower during the winter, due to less favorable weather and sea conditions.
Nationality of arrivals
In January 2018, 28% of sea arrivals were Eritreans, followed by Tunisians (15%), Pakistanis (7%), Nigerians (5%), Libyans (5%), Ivoirians (4%), Senegalese (4%), Algerians (3%), Guineans (3%), and Sudanese (3%). While the numbers of persons originating from Nigeria and western African countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal) are significantly lower than in January 2017, sea arrivals from Eritrea, Tunisia, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, and Sudan have considerably increased compared to the same period last year. Notably, almost 1,200 Eritreans and over 600 Tunisians reached Italian shores in January 2018, compared to less than 20, respectively, in January 2017. Also, sea arrivals from Pakistan were over 270 in January 2018, compared to less than 10 in January 2017. Similarly, over 200 Libyans were registered at landing points in January 2018, while 25 had arrived by sea in the same period last year.