MAPPED: The eight countries driving nearly three quarters of all illegal migrant crossings

Eight countries are responsible for nearly three quarters of all illegal migrant crossings into Britain, bombshell new figures have revealed.

Data on the nationality of migrants crossing the Channel is published every three months, with the latest figures covering the period to the end of March 2026.

Eritrean has topped the list of nationalities for arrivals in a 12-month period for the first time.

The east African nation is responsible for 17.9 per cent of the total crossings.

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Afghan, Sudanese and Iranian are the three next most common nationalities, making up just over 11 per cent each.

After that, the most common nationalities were Somali (9.5 per cent), Iraqi (4.1 per cent), Ethiopian (4.1 per cent) and Syrian (3.4 per cent).

These eight nationalities make up a staggering 72.7 per cent of the total crossings in the last 12 months from March.

Overall, 207,159 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel since data began on January 1, 2018.

The nationality breakdown has shifted significantly since the crisis began under the Conservatives.

From 2018 to 2022, Iranians consistently made up the single largest nationality crossing the Channel, representing the top demographic every year during this window.

However, following their peak in 2021 at approximately 8,300 arrivals, they have been decreasing steadily into 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Prior to 2022, Albanian crossings were incredibly rare, with only 815 arrivals recorded in all of 2021.

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However, in 2022, numbers skyrocketed to 12,310 arrivals, transforming Albanians into the single largest nationality crossing the English Channel that year.

Up to 95 per cent of these arrivals were young, single adult men, according to figures.

Afghan arrivals became the most common demographic from 2023 to 2024 and then again in 2024 to 2025, only to be passed by Eritrean from 2025 to 2026.

Despite a recent flurry in arrivals, the number of migrants who have reached the UK after crossing the English Channel so far this year is more than 40 per cent lower than at this point last year.

While the total figure is lower, the average number of people per boat is at a record high.

In July, 32 boats were used to transport 2,316 arrivals, giving an average of 72 migrants per boat.

This is the highest average for any month since data on Channel crossings began in 2018.

One of the boats that made the journey in July this year was a dinghy carrying 165 people, making it the largest number of migrants to reach the UK in a single boat to date.

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