Laurence Dollimore
THE number of migrants arriving to Spain has tripled in just one year.
Three times as many migrants have arrived in Spain so far this year compared to the same period in 2016.
According to figures released by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), it means the number of sea arrivals (8,385), could soon overtake Greece, which has so far had 11,713.
It comes after footage of a rubber boat dinghy full of migrants landing on a tourist-packed beach in Cadiz went viral yesterday.
The IOM figures said in total, 11,849 people have arrived in Spain so far this year, compared with 13,246 in the whole of last year.
“We assume that some of the change is due to the fact that the route [to Spain] is considered a safe route up to the coast through Morocco,” said Joel Millman, a senior IOM spokesman.
“It’s possible that Spain will outperform Greece this year,” Mr Millman said. “If so, that’s a big change.”
Spain is still far behind Italy, which received 96,861 until August 9, according to the IOM.
11.000 refugees per 8 months is not so impressive for a country of the size of Spain.