More than 120,000 migrant pushbacks recorded at EU borders last year

Nine NGOs, including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, recently released a report detailing more than 120,000 migrant pushbacks recorded at the European Union’s external borders last year. Pushbacks often lead to serious tragedies.

This, according to the organisations, stopped thousands of people from applying for asylum. Migrant pushbacks remain illegal under different international rules. The data on pushbacks has been collected from NGO reports, research groups and official sources.

It must be highlighted here that many migrants “are pushed back on multiple occasions at different moments”, according to the report. This concerning number does not include pushbacks happening along the EU’s internal borders.

Bulgaria tops the ranking of EU countries that push back the most migrants. The high ranking is partially explained by the fact that Bulgaria became a full member of the Schengen area on January 1, 2025. This country is likely under pressure to manage migration.

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