Migrant crisis: Migration to Europe explained in seven charts
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, sparking a crisis as countries struggled to cope with the influx, and creating division in the EU over how best to deal with resettling people.
The vast majority arrived by sea but some migrants have made their way over land, principally via Turkey and Albania.
Winter has not stemmed the flow of people - with 135,711 people reaching Europe by sea since the start of 2016, according to the UNHCR.
The conflict in Syria continues to be by far the biggest driver of migration. But the ongoing violence in Afghanistan and Iraq, abuses in Eritrea, as well as poverty in Kosovo, are also leading people to look for new lives elsewhere.
Although not all of those arriving in Europe choose to claim asylum, many do. Germany received the highest number of new asylum applications in 2015, with more than 476,000.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 1,011,700migrants arrived by sea in 2015, and almost 34,900 by land.
This compares with 280,000 arrivals by land and sea for the whole of 2014. The figures do not include those who got in undetected.
According to the IOM, more than 3,770 migrants were reported to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2015.
Most died on the crossing from north Africa to Italy, and more than 800 died in the Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece.
The summer months are usually when most fatalities occur as it is the busiest time for migrants attempting to reach Europe.
Although Germany has had the most asylum applications in 2015, Hungary had the highest in proportion to its population, despite having closed its border with Croatia in an attempt to stop the flow in October. Nearly 1,800 refugees per 100,000 of Hungary's local population claimed asylum in 2015.
Tensions in the EU have been rising because of the disproportionate burden faced by some countries, particularly the countries where the majority of migrants have been arriving: Greece, Italy and Hungary.
Although huge numbers have been applying for asylum, the number of people being given asylum is far lower.
In 2015, EU countries offered asylum to 292,540 refugees. In the same year, more than a million migrants applied for asylum - although applying for asylum can be a lengthy procedure so many of those given refugee status may have applied in previous years.
·discussion questions
-Do you think that refugees should be ignored by the police? Why or why not?-What is Europe’s response to this fact? What do you think about Europe’s policy?
-Why are refugees desperate to enter Europe?
-What do you think about people who say that the refugees are jihadists?
-We know that this problem with refugees has its origin in the jihadist attacks in Syria. Do you think that this civil war in Syria can develop into another world war?
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