Key Trends
Mixed migrations flow along the Balkans route continues. More than 5,000 refugees and migrants are estimated to have arrived to the Balkans countries (other than Greece) in the last four months of 2017
Figures from Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and FYROM clearly indicate that the Western Balkans remains one of the most travelled migration route. During the last four months of 2017, Save the Children identified 3,730 new arrivals in Serbia. During the same period, 849 new refugees and migrants were identified in Bulgaria, 1,240 were recorded as transiting through FYROM, while 1,642 people applied for international protection in Romania. The use of many different routes and the comparison of demographic data indicate that these figures do not overlap completely. In addition, the available data does not capture all irregular migrants, who travel the Balkans route, and who are avoiding police registration. Based on these indicators, we estimate that at least 5,000 refugees and migrants arrived to the region in the period from September to December of 2017.
More than 6,500 refugees and migrants are currently present in the Balkans countries (other than Greece)
The number of people accommodated in reception centres, at external addresses and unofficial shelters in Bulgaria, Serbia,
Romania and FYROM is estimated to be around 6,500. The data shows that the number of refugees and migrants present in the region did not increase, despite new arrivals, suggesting continuous onward movement.
Two new routes emerged in late 2017: (1) Black Sea route; and (2) the route through Bosnia and Herzegovina
The data shows two migration routes more prominently emerging during the reporting period: the Black Sea route to the east, connecting Turkey and Romania; and the increasingly used route through Bosnia and Herzegovina towards Croatia to the west, attempting to move onwards to Western or North Europe.
Most of new arrivals were refugees and migrants from Iraq.
The data shows that the majority of new arrivals in the period from September to December were from Iraq. This represents a change from the previous period when the majority of newly arrived refugees and migrants were from Afghanistan.
Children make about onethird of all refugees and migrants transiting through the Balkans, out of which a significant number travelled alone.
Available data on the number of refugee and migrants transiting through the Balkans shows that the proportion of children in the total migrating population fluctuated between 33% and 36%. In addition, the data shows that the percentage of unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) in the overall number of children vary from country to country, oscillating from 12% in Romania to 47% in Serbia, indicating that some children remain invisible and that there are significant differences in identification procedures. The vast majority of UASC are boys from Afghanistan and Pakistan