(Reuters) Around 57,000 migrants entered Spain irregularly last year, almost double the 2022 number as arrivals on the Canary Islands in fragile boats from west Africa surged to record levels, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Spanish government last year intensified its contacts with authorities in countries such as Senegal and Mauritania to try to reverse the trend. Spain also had to create additional emergency accommodation for migrants in military barracks, hotels and hostels across the country.
A total of 56,852 migrants illegally entered Spain by land or sea in 2023, an 82% year-on-year increase and the highest number since 2018, when 64,298 arrivals were registered, Interior Ministry data showed.
