A total of 36,816 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2024, provisional government figures show.
The figure is up 25% on 2023 when 29,437 people arrived in small boats.
The number successfully making the journey in 2024 is the second-highest since records began in 2018. The total, however, is down 20% on the record 45,774 arrivals in 2022.
The number of people who died while making the hazardous journey across the busiest shipping lane in the world was not published in the Home Office data, though 2024 was considered the deadliest for Channel crossings.
According to the French coastguard, 53 people died across the 12 months.
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‘I was totally lost because of panic’
The number of people who have made the crossing has jumped significantly in recent years.
In 2018, when the figures were first collated, 299 people arrived; in 2019 there were 1,843 – which more than quadrupled to 8,466 in 2020 – before tripling to 28,526 in 2021.
Those fleeing countries such as Ukraine and Afghanistan have safe and legal routes to the UK open to them.
Refugees recognised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and close family members of refugees can apply to legally settle in the UK, as can people from Hong Kong.
Others can arrive via alternative routes, but these are sometimes illegal and can rely on criminal gangs and people smugglers.
The last crossings of the year took place on 29 December, when 291 people made the journey from France in six boats.
Weather is a large determinant of whether people risk the voyage. Stormy weather means fewer take a chance, while calmer conditions see more boats launching.
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A Home Office spokesperson said: “The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”
The National Crime Agency said it has around 70 live investigations into organised immigration crime or human trafficking.
Both biggest UK political parties have vowed to bring down the number of people crossing the Channel with Labour saying they’ll “smash the gangs”.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak made stopping small boat crossings one of the five key pledges of his premiership.