Italy saw 101,386 arrivals from January to July this year compared to 48,940 last year, a rise of 107 per cent, said the ministry.
This was an update on figures released Tuesday, which said Italy registered 89,158 arrivals on its southern shores from January to July, compared to 41,435 in 2022, a rise of 115.18 per cent.
In the first seven months of the year the main country of departure to Italy was Tunisia, according to Tuesday’s report.
In the same period in 2022 the main country of departure was Libya.
2023 has also seen an increase in the number of arrivals following search and rescue events, according to the ministry.
In the period January-July 64,764 migrants and refugees - 72.64 per cent of total sea arrivals - were disembarked in Italy following a sea rescue, compared to 19,171 - 43.27 per cent of the total - in the same period in 2022.
Of the people disembarked following sea rescue, 5.8 per cent were rescued by humanitarian ships run by NGOs.
The number of applications for asylum also increased by 70.59 per cent to 72,460, the ministry said.
Some 2561 people were repatriated following a negative outcome to their asylum claim, up 28.05 per cent over the same period last year.
ANSA
