Cairo, 12 June 2016 – A total of 1,815 Egyptian irregular migrants landed on the Italian shores including 1,147 (78%) unaccompanied migrant children (UMCs) from January to May 2015, ranking Egypt as the tenth top sending country of irregular Egyptian migrants to Italy, and the top sending of unaccompanied migrant children.

Over the past five years, IOM has been observing an upward trend in the number of Egyptian irregular migrants to Italy. Following the uprising in 2011, arrivals of Egyptian irregular migrants were seen at 1,989 in 2011 followed by slight increases in the following years peaking in 2014 with a total of 4,095 Egyptians pushing Egypt to rank the tenth among top sending countries of irregular migrants to Italy.

In 2015 - however, there was a noted decline in the number of irregular migrants in general due to a number of factors including deaths and shifts in the migratory routes.

Similarly, numbers of Egyptian migrants arriving irregularly to Greece have risen sharply with irregular fluctuations. Compared to only 238 arrivals in 2011, only a few migrants arrived in the subsequent years (case in 2012, and further 9 cases in 2013). Numbers jumped to 307 in 2014 and tripled in 2015 with 974 migrants with most of the arrivals occurring during the third quarter of the year. Yet in this current year, only 364 irregular Egyptian migrants landed on the Greek shores in the first five months of the year signaling a decline that may indicate that more migrants are preferring Italy to Greece.

On the drivers of irregular migration, Amr Taha, Egypt Head of Office explained, “Egypt’s economic growth is insufficient to absorb labour market entrants, in turn resulting in high unemployment prompting youth to find work opportunities abroad. High birth rates, over four in rural areas, means entrance to the job market will continue to further out strip job opportunities for many years to come; therefore, there is need to create regular emigration channels to address unemployment and maximize the impact of remittances on economic growth.”

IOM Egypt assists irregular migrants who wish to return to their home country voluntarily. Since 2012, IOM provided assisted voluntary return and reintegration to 1,269 Egyptian irregular migrants returning mainly from Greece, Netherlands, and Germany. Provided assistance enables returning migrants to establish their own business, continue their education, and receive on the job training, further forms of assistance can include housing and medical care.

For further information, please contact Amr Taha at IOM Egypt. Tel: +202-27365140, Email: iomegypt@iom.int