The Greek Coast Guard rescued at least 44 migrants off the eastern Aegean island of Samos on Wednesday who had come over the sea by dinghy from the Turkish coast.
The migrants, whose nationalities have not yet been revealed, have been transferred to Samos for questioning.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi announced this week that a total of 598 people arrived on the Aegean islands during the week ending on Monday, far fewer than the previous week’s 658 arrivals. This also represents a great decrease from last year’s total of 839 arrivals during the same period.
The average daily arrivals this week were 85, compared to 94 in the previous week.
Over 14,600 refugees and migrants are currently living on the Aegean islands. The majority of this population, thirty-six percent, are from Afghanistan. Iraqis make up seventeen percent and Syrians twelve percent of the Aegean Island refugee and migrant population.
Women account for 21% of the population and children for 30%, of whom nearly 7 out of 10 are younger than 12 years of age.
Approximately 20% of the children are unaccompanied or separated, and a majority of those are Afghans and Syrians. Adult men between 18 and 39 years of age make up 43% of the total population.
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