Italy: Migrant sea arrivals decrease slightly in February

Rome: About 3,329 people disembarked on the Italian coasts in February 2025, four percent fewer than the previous month, according to a UNHCR statement. But overall, since the beginning of the year, the numbers of arrivals are up by 49 percent, compared to the equivalent period in 2024.

In February, four percent fewer migrants arrived via sea in Italy compared with the previous month. A total of 3,329 people arrived compared with the 3,479 in January.

However, since January, over 6,800 sea arrivals have been recorded, marking a 49 percent overall increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to a March 5, UNHCR press release.

Those who arrived on Italian coasts in February departed from Libya, Turkey, Tunisia, and Algeria. The greatest number weighed anchor from Libya, accounting for approximately 92 percent of all arrivals via sea to Italy, according to UNHCR.

Approximately 84 percent of those who arrived in February disembarked on Lampedusa. Other ports of arrival include Crotone, Livorno, Pantelleria, Brindisi, Civitavecchia, Napoli, Portopalo di Capo Passero, Pozzallo, Porto Pino, Sarroch, and Petrosino.

Since the beginning of the year, the main countries of origin for arriving migrants were Bangladesh (38 percent), Pakistan (17 percent), Syria (10 percent), Egypt (10 percent), Eritrea (five percent), Ethiopia (three percent), Tunisia (three percent), Algeria (two percent), Sudan (two percent), and Afghanistan (one percent).

At least four people died of hypothermia or burns/inhalation of hydrocarbons, according to accounts collected by UNHCR on two shipwrecks that occurred last month.