The number of migrants who have reached Italy by boat from North Africa this year has already surpassed a previous record set two years ago, official data shows, as pressure on Italy’s shelter and asylum systems grows.
Italy has borne the brunt of new arrivals since the implementation in March of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants sailing for Greece.
171,299 boat migrants had arrived in Italy as of November 28, compared to the previous record of 170,100 for all of 2014.
Most of the migrants are Africans of various nationalities. Some 36,000 Nigerians have made the trip, about 21 percent of the total, along with 20,000 Eritreans and more than 12,000 from Guinea.
Last year some 154,000 migrants came through the deadly central Mediterranean route, bringing the three-year tally of arrivals to almost a half million.
More than 176,000 asylum seekers now live in Italian shelters, and there have been a record number of asylum requests this year. This is putting the country’s asylum process and legal system under increasing pressure.
