The number of migrants who died while attempting to cross the Aegean Sea in 2017 has dropped by 85 percent from the previous year, according to data just released by Turkish coast guards.
The number of migrants who died while crossing the Aegean Sea to reach Greece's coasts from Turkey in 2017 has dropped by 85 percent from the previous year, according to Turkish coast guards.
Turkish coast guards said that 61 people died in 2017 from 434 in 2016, when a decline had already been registered from the 806 estimated deaths in 2015. The trend has also been confirmed by international organizations including UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, although with slightly different estimates.
Decline in casualties due to drop in migrants attempting the crossing
The decline in deaths registered in 2017 is mostly due to the drop in people attempting the crossing, according to data provided by Turkish authorities. According to Ankara, in 2017 a total of 28,907 left compared to 173,164 in 2016 and 853,650 during a mass exodus in 2015.
The decline in migrant trafficking along the Aegean route - down 97 percent, based on the data provided by Turkish authorities - has coincided with a controversial agreement between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016 after which the average daily flow of migrants dropped from a few thousand people to a few dozens.
The result has been hailed by both Ankara and Brussels as the outcome of the forced cooperation to fight illegal migration that followed the agreement despite harsh criticism of the deal leveled by NGOs and international observers on a juridical and humanitarian level.
Over 40 percent of arrivals are Syrian refugees, UNHCR
According to UNHCR, over 40 percent of those who reached Greece by sea in 2017 were Syrian refugees fleeing war, followed by Iraqi and Afghan nationals, respectively 19.5 percent and 11.5 percent. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), just over 5,000 people reached Greece by land in 2017.
Over 3.4 million Syrian refugees are still in Turkey, according to UNHCR, more than in any other country in the world. Less than 10 percent of Syrian refugees are staying at camps on the Turkish-Syrian border while the others are distributed across the country, often in overcrowded or makeshift lodgings. Some 300,000 Iraqi refugees who have also fled war zones are also estimated to be living in the country.