Overall, the number of women and girls registered at arrivals by sea and by land in Europe between 2018 and 2020 is about 76,615 or 20 per cent of total arrivals.

This brief presents an overview of available data on migratory trends to Europe through the Eastern, Central and Western Mediterranean routes and the Western African Atlantic route between 2018 and 2020, with a focus on women and girls. It is based on data collected by IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) on arrivals by sea and by land in Spain (WMR/ WAAR), Italy and Malta (CMR), Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria (EMR), on migrants’ transits through the Western Balkan region, and on Flow Monitoring Surveys collected by DTM, to present a brief profile of women and girls on the move to Europe over the past three years.

The Flow Monitoring Surveys (FMS) are part of the IOM’s DTM activities in the Mediterranean region, which started in October 2015 and are conducted within the framework of IOM’s research on populations on the move through the Mediterranean and Western Balkan Routes to Europe. Surveys are analysed to provide information on profiles, transit routes, and vulnerabilities of the respondents. Between 2018 and 2020, data collection took place in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Spain. There were 1,100 female respondents, representing 13 per cent of the total sample (8,769). The main findings are presented by route: 446 surveys in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia for the EMR, 355 surveys in Spain (WMR/ WAAR) and 299 surveys in Italy (CMR).