Here are some of the key statistics for people who arrived in the UK in 2023 after crossing the English Channel in small boats:
– How many people made the crossing?
There were 29,437 arrivals in 2023, according to provisional figures from the Home Office.
This is more than a third (36%) lower than the 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
It is the first time the total number of arrivals has fallen year on year since current records began.
The number had previously increased every year, with 299 people detected making the journey in 2018, 1,843 in 2019, 8,466 in 2020 and 28,526 in 2021, before hitting 45,774 in 2022.
– Where did the people come from?
Afghans accounted for the single largest group of arrivals, at 20% of the total.
This is based on the latest available data for nationality, which covers January 1 to November 29 2023, and is the same proportion seen in 2022.
By contrast, the proportion of arrivals who are Albanians fell sharply, from 28% in 2022 to just 3% in 2023.
The second largest group in 2023 were Iranians, at 12%, down slightly from 13% in 2022.
Turkish nationals made up 11% of the total in 2023, up from 2% in 2022, while Eritreans accounted for 9%, up from 4%, and Iraqis made up 9%, down slightly from 10%.
– Why has the mix of nationalities changed?
Following the spike in summer 2022 in the number of Albanian nationals arriving in the UK on small boats, the governments of both countries struck an agreement to work together to prevent people from making the journey.
This included placing UK Border Force staff in Tirana airport in the capital of Albania, the exchange of senior police officers and the creation of a joint migration task force.
It is likely this contributed to the large drop in Albanians arriving by small boats, down from 12,658 in 2022 to 922 between January 1 and November 29 2023 – a fall of 93%.
The mix of nationalities of people arriving on small boats has varied from year to year.
In 2018 and 2019, when comparatively few crossings were recorded, most arrivals were Iranian nationals (80% and 66% respectively).
A change came in 2020, with Iranians still the leading nationality but accounting for 28% of arrivals, followed by Iraqis (19%), Sudanese (11%) and Syrians (9%).
Iranians and Iraqis together accounted for more than half of arrivals in 2021 (30% and 22% respectively), with a mix of countries once again making up the rest.
2022 saw another development, with Albanian (28%) and Afghan (20%) the leading nationalities, followed by a further change in 2023, with Afghan and Iranian the most common groups.
All figures are based on the total number of arrivals where nationality has been recorded by the Home Office.
– How many people made the crossing per boat?
The average has been on an upwards trend since the start of 2021.
In 2018 there were fewer than 10 people per boat while in 2019 and 2020 the figure tended to fluctuate between single figures and the high teens.
From 2021, the average started to increase, reaching 20 in March and passing 30 in August.
It reached 40 people per boat in June 2022 and went on to climb as high as 56 in September 2023, before falling back to 47 last month.
– How many applied for asylum?
The latest available Home Office data for asylum claims by small boat arrivals runs only to May 2023.
It shows that of the 40,386 arrivals recorded from July 2022 to May 2023, 90% (36,169) applied for asylum in the UK.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of all asylum applications made by small boat arrivals since 2018 were still awaiting an initial decision as of May 2023.
Of the small boat arrivals since 2018 who had received an initial decision, just under two-thirds (65%) were granted refugee status or another type of leave.