4,162 migrants reach the Canaries in two months as departures from Morocco rise
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Yabiladi
Between 16 August and 15 October, 4,162 migrants reached the Canary Islands by sea, while the average daily rate rose from 21 to 68. Twenty-five of the 49 boats arriving since 14 September, carrying 1,561 migrants, departed from Moroccan ports, according to Spanish Interior Ministry data reported by Yabiladi.
Between 16 August and 15 October, 4,162 migrants reached the Canary Islands by sea, as the average daily number of arrivals rose from 21 to 68. The increase in departures from Morocco’s coasts was reported by Spain’s Interior Ministry, according to Yabiladi.
Between mid-September and mid-October, 3,378 people arrived in the archipelago, including 1,837 in the first two weeks of October. Since 14 September, 25 of the 49 recorded boats, carrying 1,561 migrants, had departed from Tan-Tan, Tarfaya, Laayoune, Boujdour or Dakhla, according to data cited by Yabiladi. Security sources cited by Libertad Digital estimate that six in ten boats arriving in the Canaries departed from Morocco.
The annual total stood at 8,970 migrants on 15 October, 33.5% lower than at the same point in 2025, compared with a decline of nearly 60% in mid-August. The Canary Islands government is calling for Frontex to be deployed on the Atlantic route and for the numbers of Civil Guard and National Police officers to be increased. It believes that, at the current rate, the 2026 total could exceed that of 2025.
The increase comes as Morocco had already faced the return of more than 5,300 migrants from Ceuta, announced on 13 September.
