The European migrant crisis began in 2015, when a rising number of refugees and migrants made the journey to the European Union to seek asylum, travling across the Mediterranean Sea or through Southeast Europe.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the top three nationalities of the over one million Mediterranean Sea arrivals between January 2015 and March 2016 were Syrian (46.7%), Afghan (20.9%) and Iraqi (9.4%)
Of the refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea in 2015, 58% were men, 17% women and 25% children.
Ascertaining motivation is complex, but most of the migrants are refugees, fleeing war and persecution in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea.