In the first half of this year, more than 20,000 migrants travelled from mainland Europe to the UK by crossing English Channel.
This number is nearly 50% higher than the number of people who made the same journey during the first six months of the previous year.
It also marks the highest ever recorded in the first half of any year, as per Sky News.
From January 2025 up to this Monday, 19,982 people risked their lives by crossing the sea from France to the UK in small boats.
Out of this total, 879 people made the journey on the Monday alone, which is the third highest number of people crossing in one day this year so far, according to the Home Office.
On the other hand, more migrants were seen crossing the sea in small boats and now the total number of people has gone over 20,000.
This is the first time the total has been this high in the first six months of any year since the UK started keeping records of such crossings in 2018.
In the first six months of 2025, more people crossed the Channel than ever before in the same time period.
The number is 48% more than how many crossed in the first half of 2024 and 75% more than in the first half of 2023.
