Over 850,000 migrants have landed on Europe`s Mediterranean shores since the beginning of the year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)`s latest figures said on Tuesday.
According to the IOM, 858,805 migrants have arrived to European shores by sea this year. At least 3,548 people died or have gone missing crossing the Mediterranean on way to Europe, according to the figures.
Greece has the highest share of the influx, with 712,159 arrivals, according the agency. Italy is second with 142,695 arrivals, and Spain is third with 3,845 arrivals.
Greece has also seen the largest increase in migrant arrivals, with the number almost doubling since early October.
Arrivals to Italy and Greece differ by country of migrant origin, with Greece a primary destination for Syrian refugees, with almost 400,000 arrivals from the war-torn country. Italy`s migrants come mostly from Africa.
The European Union is currently struggling to manage a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people leaving conflict-torn countries for Europe. Over 1.2 million illegal border crossings have been detected by the EU border agency Frontex since the beginning of 2015.
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