Departures from Algeria rise as Western Mediterranean migration route shifts

Irregular migration toward Europe is increasingly shifting toward Algeria, even as overall crossings into the European Union continue to fall.

New data from Frontex shows that the Western Mediterranean route has become the main exception to the wider European decline, with Algeria now standing out as a major departure point toward Spain, especially the Balearic Islands.

According to Frontex, irregular border crossings into the EU fell by almost 40% during the first five months of 2026, with nearly 39,000 detections recorded across all routes.

The agency linked the decline to stronger cooperation with partner countries and preventive measures in key departure states. However, the Western Mediterranean route moved in the opposite direction. It recorded around 7,100 detections, up 46% compared with the same period last year.

Frontex said the increase was driven mainly by departures from Algeria. The agency also noted that the Balearic Islands have become one of the main destinations for boats leaving Algerian shores.

This confirms a broader change in smuggling routes, as stricter controls in Morocco, along the Western African route and in parts of the Central Mediterranean have pushed networks to look for other departure points.

The nationality figures also show the weight of Algeria in the current Western Mediterranean route. UNHCR data based on Frontex public figures showed that, by April 30, 2026, Algerians represented 42.1% of arrivals on the Western Mediterranean route, with 2,269 people recorded. Moroccans came second with 21.9%, or 1,182 people, followed by Sudanese, Malians and Guineans.

The shift toward Algeria is also linked to Morocco’s increasingly developed migration control system. Over the past years, Morocco has strengthened cooperation with Spain and the European Union to limit irregular departures, dismantle smuggling networks and reinforce border surveillance. Reuters reported that Moroccan authorities prevented 73,640 irregular migration attempts toward Europe in 2025, dismantled more than 300 migrant smuggling networks and rescued 13,595 migrants at sea. Moroccan authorities also said 4,372 irregular migrants took part in voluntary return programmes in 2025.

This approach reflects Rabat’s attempt to combine security control with a humanitarian framework. A senior Moroccan Interior Ministry official, quoted by Reuters, described voluntary returns as part of Morocco’s “human-centred approach to migration management,” saying the policy “strikes a balance between firmness and responsibility.” In practice, this has been reflected through sea rescue operations and voluntary return programmes, while tighter border controls have made Morocco a more difficult route for smugglers, forcing networks to adapt and shift toward other countries.

European support has also played a major role. In 2023, the European Commission launched cooperation programmes with Morocco worth €624 million, including a €152 million migration programme aimed at strengthening border management, fighting smuggling networks, supporting Morocco’s National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum, and assisting voluntary return and reintegration.

Cooperation with Spain has become especially important since the improvement of relations between Rabat and Madrid in 2022. Since then, both countries have increased coordination on migration control, particularly around the Mediterranean route, the Atlantic route toward the Canary Islands and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. As a result, Morocco has remained a central partner for Europe in managing migration pressure from Africa.

By contrast, the Algeria-Spain migration file has become more complicated. Reuters reported that smugglers have increasingly shifted operations from Morocco to Algeria because of perceived weaker controls. Frontex also said that departures from Algeria accounted for 75% of people using the Western Mediterranean route in late 2025, compared with 40% one year earlier. The same report linked the trend partly to tensions between Spain and Algeria after Madrid supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara in 2022, which affected bilateral cooperation, including on returns.

Frontex said the wider decline in EU crossings has not removed the danger at sea, with the International Organization for Migration recording nearly 1,300 deaths in the Mediterranean so far this year. Boats used by smuggling networks are often overcrowded and unsafe, exposing migrants to serious risks during the crossing.