The stretch of sea between North Africa and Italy is the world’s deadliest migration route. Over 1, 700 people are believed to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year alone while the European Union is urgently trying to find a solution to the problem. How do the European public feel about the migration crisis in southern Europe?
According to research conducted by YouGov, support for search and rescue operations is strongest in Norway – 60 percent of Norwegians are in favor of funding rescue efforts in the Mediterranean. By contrast, Finland has the weakest support by far – only 39 percent of Finnish respondents said they would support funding for search and rescue efforts in southern Europe.
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This chart shows the results of people polled on whether European countries should fund a search and rescue operation.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Migrant Deaths Are Soaring In The Mediterranean
700 migrants are missing and feared drowned after the boat they were travelling in capsized near Libya yesterday. A major rescue operation is underway amid reports there may have been as many as 950 people on board the small wooden boat. The stretch of sea between North Africa and Italy is the world’s deadliest migration route and Sunday’s tragedy may prove the worst disaster in living memory.
2, 300 migrants died in the Mediterranean in 2011, the majority of whom were attempting to escape the civil war in Libya. An estimated 1, 200 died in 2012 and 2013. The crisis intensified in 2014 when 3, 419 people perished trying to flee war-torn countries including Eritrea, Syria and countless others. In 2015, if the numbers from yesterday’s catastrophe are confirmed, an estimated 1, 500 people will have already lost their lives attempting the risky crossing – 1, 100 of those are likely to have died in the past week alone. A meeting of EU Foreign Ministers is taking place in Luxembourg today to discuss the growing crisis.
The Mediterranean Is the Most Dangerous Place for Migrants
2014 is proving a deadly year for migrants across the world with an estimated 4, 072 perishing since the beginning of January. The majority of these deaths, 75 percent, occurred in the Mediterranean according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The dangers of crossing the Mediterranean were graphically highlighted once again in mid-September when 500 people died when their boat sank near Malta. 200 more people lost their lives around the same time when their vessel went down off the coast of Libya.
Few places come close to the Mediterranean’s catastrophic migrant mortality rate – 3, 000 people have died there since the beginning of the year. 251 people died crossing borders in East Africa while 230 perished along the border between the United States and Mexico.
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