Eritrea has surged to the top of the list of nationalities arriving in the UK via illegal routes, according to data collated by the Express. The latest Home Office figures for the year ending March 2026 show 7,301 Eritreans detected, the highest single nationality total and the first time the East African country has led the rankings for a 12-month period ending in March.
Iran followed with 5,041 arrivals, Sudan with 4,893, Afghanistan with 4,626 and Somalia with 3,826. Together these five nationalities accounted for roughly three-fifths of all detected illegal-route arrivals. Iraq (1,877), Ethiopia (1,717), people recorded as Stateless (1,564), Syria (1,395) and those whose nationality was "not currently recorded" (1,301) completed the top 10.
The figures cover all detected illegal entry methods — small boats, inadequately documented air arrivals, detections inside the UK within 72 hours and detections at ports. Small boats dominate, making up about 90% of the 43,806 total detections in the year.
Of the Eritreans, 96% came by small boat. The pattern reflects a clear shift towards Horn of Africa and Middle Eastern nationalities after earlier peaks involving Albanians, Iranians and Afghans in previous years.
These numbers sit against a backdrop of falling overall crossings so far in 2026. Provisional Home Office data show 14,526 small-boat arrivals by August 2 — 43% lower than the same point in 2025 and 15% below 2024. Yet the boats themselves are fuller than ever.
The average this year stands at 67 people per boat, rising to a record 72 in July when just 32 vessels brought 2,316 people. One July crossing carried 165 migrants, the largest single-boat total on record. The long-term trend is stark: averages climbed from seven per boat in 2018 to 13 in 2020, 28 in 2021, 41 in 2022, 49 in 2023, 53 in 2024 and 62 in 2025.
The danger of these overloaded craft was underlined this week when a dinghy carrying 157 migrants suffered an engine fire in French waters near Dieppe. French vessels, assisted by two British Border Security Command boats and an RNLI lifeboat, rescued those on board.
A total of 54 were taken to France on British vessels. There were no reported fatalities. The boat had left Veules-les-Roses the previous night and was one of the largest ever to attempt the crossing. Channel officials said: "The incident serves as a stark reminder of the lethal risks created by people-smugglers packing ever more passengers into fragile inflatables."
Demographics reinforce the picture of young adult men dominating the flows. In the year to March 2026, males made up 82% of small-boat arrivals. Men aged 25–39 accounted for 38% and those aged 18–24 for 28%.
Boys under 18 formed 9% and girls under 17 just 3 per cent. Females overall were 15%.
Almost all who arrive this way claim asylum. Of the more than 187,000 small-boat arrivals since 2018, 95% have done so. By the end of 2025, 44.5% of those claims had resulted in refugee status or other leave, 29.8% had been refused and 18.7% withdrawn, with the remainder still pending. In the year to March 2026, 42% of all asylum claimants in the UK had arrived by small boat.
The top nationalities have changed over time. Iranians led for several years after 2018. Albanians briefly dominated after 2022.
Afghans topped the list in 2023/24 and 2024/25 following the Taliban takeover. Eritrea’s rise, alongside sharp increases from Sudan and Somalia, points to ongoing conflict, repression and economic collapse in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel as key drivers. Syrian numbers, by contrast, fell sharply after the fall of the Assad regime.
While overall arrivals are down this year, the concentration among a handful of nationalities, the record overcrowding of boats and the continued willingness of smugglers to risk mass-casualty incidents show the pressure on the Channel route remains intense. The data make clear which countries of origin are currently supplying the bulk of those journeys.
