Migration routes from countries of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa regions through the Mediterranean Sea and to Europe have been more active used since 2011. In the wake of the large increase of flows in 2015-2016, which also marked the highest number of deaths in the Mediterranean, IOM rolled out a Flow Monitoring system to monitor the Mixed Migration Flows into Europe, as part of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) tools and methodologies.
Since September 2015, DTM Europe gathers and disseminates information on migrants and refugees travelling through the Mediterranean, Western African Atlantic, and Western Balkan routes to Europe. The countries monitored as part of this exercise are First arrival countries at the south-eastern borders of the European Union, with migrants travelling through four main routes:
- Eastern Mediterranean route: Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece
- Central Mediterranean route: Italy and Malta
- Western Mediterranean route: Peninsular Coasts of Spain, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla
- Western African Atlantic route: Canary Islands of Spain
Moreover, DTM Europe also monitors data on migrants registered in Transit countries in the Western Balkans region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary and Kosovo1). These are considered separately to prevent to the extent possible the double counting of the same persons that cross multiple borders along the Western Balkan route.
DTM Europe makes available for the public information on flows of migrants entering in each country, with nationality and sex/age disaggregated data where possible, using data collated by IOM through consultations with ministries of interior, coast guards, police forces, and other relevant national authorities, consolidated and published on the Migration Flows to Europe page.
As part of the same tool, DTM Europe also provides weekly snapshot data on stock of migrants reported to be in reception centers located in the monitored countries (Migrants Presence page).
Moreover, to gain insight into the profile of migrants travelled along the monitored routes (age, sex, gender, countries and areas of origin, levels of education and employment status before migration), as well as their experiences during their journey to Europe (key transit points on their route, cost of the journey, reasons for moving and intentions) and their vulnerability to and potential past experiences of abuse, exploitation and violence, DTM Europe also deploys Flow Monitoring Surveys. These are individual surveys carried out on a regular basis with migrants by DTM trained data collectors in monitoring points located on entry, transit and exit locations in several countries.
Available datasets, analyses, visualizations and reports are produced by the DTM Europe team in the IOM Regional Office in Vienna together with DTM country-teams, and are available on the DTM portal.
For further information, please contact DTMMediterranean@iom.int
1 References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).