Canary route contracts as Ceuta entries surge
MADRID, Spain — July 2026.
Spain recorded 12,138 irregular migrant arrivals by sea and land during the first half of 2026, a decline of 32.5% from the 17,990 registered in the same period of 2025, according to provisional figures released by the Ministry of the Interior. The decrease amounted to 5,852 fewer people between January 1 and June 30, establishing a lower national total while also revealing major differences between Spain’s maritime corridors and its land borders in North Africa. Maritime arrivals continued to account for most irregular entries, but the nationwide reduction was driven primarily by the sharp contraction on the Canary Islands route rather than by a uniform decline across every territory. The data instead show a redistribution of pressure, with fewer arrivals in the Canaries and Balearic Islands, more people reaching the mainland by sea, and a steep increase in land entries through Ceuta and Melilla.
A total of 9,440 people reached Spain irregularly by sea during the six-month period, compared with 16,931 in the first half of 2025, representing a reduction of 7,491 people, or approximately 44.2%. The number of boats and other vessels also fell from 542 to 371, a decrease of 171 or 31.5%, meaning that both the volume of maritime arrivals and the frequency of detected crossings were lower at the national level. Because sea arrivals declined more sharply than the total number of irregular entries, land crossings acquired greater statistical weight within the overall balance, particularly in the autonomous cities located on the North African coast. The ministry classifies the figures as provisional and compares the accumulated total from January through June with the equivalent period of the previous year.
The most pronounced shift occurred in the Canary Islands, where maritime arrivals fell from 11,321 people in the first half of 2025 to 3,708 in 2026, a reduction of 7,613 people or 67.2%. Vessel arrivals on that route dropped even more sharply, from 186 to 49, representing 137 fewer boats and a decline of 73.7% compared with the same six-month period last year. These figures made the Canary route the principal contributor to Spain’s overall decrease, as the reduction recorded there was larger than the net decline for the entire country because increases elsewhere partially offset it. The Balearic Islands also registered fewer arrivals, receiving 2,631 people compared with 3,015 in 2025, a decline of 12.7%, while the number of boats fell from 155 to 139.
The mainland coast followed the opposite trajectory, recording 3,086 irregular maritime arrivals during the first half of the year, up from 2,585 in the comparable period of 2025, an increase of 501 people or 19.38%. That growth occurred even though the number of vessels declined from 198 to 180, indicating that the average number of people associated with each detected boat arrival was higher than during the previous year. When mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands are combined, the total rose modestly from 5,600 to 5,717 people, or 2.1%, while the number of vessels fell from 353 to 319. Maritime arrivals to the autonomous cities remained comparatively limited, with no arrivals reported in Ceuta and 15 in Melilla, compared with three and seven respectively during the first half of 2025.
The sharpest increase appeared at the land borders of Ceuta and Melilla, where arrivals rose from a combined 1,059 people in the first half of 2025 to 2,698 in 2026, an increase of 1,639 or 154.8%. Ceuta accounted for most of that rise, registering 2,582 land arrivals, including access by swimming, compared with 978 one year earlier, an increase of 164%, while Melilla recorded 116 arrivals against 81 in 2025. Spain’s Interior Ministry has stated that irregular arrivals represent about 6% of total foreign entries into the country and has noted that many people entering through these routes may request international protection after fleeing conflict, persecution, violence or serious human-rights abuses. The first-half balance therefore combines a substantial national reduction with intensified pressure in specific locations, demonstrating that lower overall numbers can coexist with significant increases along individual border routes.
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