Over 1m refugees and migrants arrive in EU this year

More than 1m refugees and migrants came to the EU this year, while almost 3,700 died or went missing in perilous journeys which reaped huge profit for smugglers, the International Organisation for Migration has said.

“This is three to four times as many migrants and refugees coming north as we had in 2014, and the deaths have already far surpassed the deaths last year,” said IOM chief William Lacy Swing.

Almost all those arriving came across the Mediterranean or the Aegean Seas, and half were Syrians fleeing the war.

Another 20% were Afghans, and 7% were Iraqis, IOM and the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a joint statement.

People-smuggling operations probably accounted for the majority of journeys and likely earned at least $1bn (€912m), Swing said, taking “anywhere from $2,000 to maybe $6,000 depending on how many members of the family and depending on which smuggling ring it is”.

More than one million migrants reach Europe in 2015, UN refugee agency says https://t.co/NkzbaUqQys pic.twitter.com/3tYnYFxN2p

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 22, 2015

IOM estimates people smugglers in Europe have made $10bn or more since 2000, maybe much more.

“They are certainly getting very well paid for their services,” Swing said.

IOM spokesman Joel Millman said it was impossible to forecast how the flow of migrants would evolve in 2016.

“So much is in the balance, the resolution of the Syrian war, and the disposition of the European border protection moves that are being contemplated,” he said.

“We never thought it would reach this level. We just hope people are treated with dignity.”

The record movement of people into Europe is a symptom of a record level of disruption around the globe, with numbers of refugees and internally displaced people far surpassing 60m, UNHCR said last week.

Swing said the war in Syria was only one among many causes, including ebola and Boko Haram in West Africa, an earthquake in Nepal, conflicts in Libya, Yemen, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Afghanistan and Iraq.