Balearics remain key as irregular crossings rise 34%

The Balearic Islands remain a main destination on the western Mediterranean route as irregular crossings into Spain rise 34% to 15,909 by August 2026. European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex says Algeria is still the main departure country on the route, which also leads to the Iberian Peninsula. The agency has not published a separate figure for the Balearics, so its report does not put a number on arrivals in Mallorca.

July brings a three-year high

The route reached its highest monthly level for three years in July before numbers fell again in August. Frontex links the increase to changing people-smuggling routes.

Stricter controls in Morocco and on neighbouring routes in West Africa and the central Mediterranean have led to more departures from the Algerian coast, the agency says.

EU crossings fall, but deaths continue

Across the European Union, Frontex detected about 75,000 irregular border crossings in the first eight months of 2026, down 35% on the same period a year earlier. August brought about 10,700 crossings, 38% fewer than in August 2025.

The overall fall has not ended the human cost. More than 1,800 people have died in the Mediterranean since the start of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com