DHAKA, 30 July 2021, (TON): As many as 62,583 Bangladeshis entered Europe irregularly using nine different routes in over a decade since 2009, Brac Migration Programme has revealed.

Referring to data of Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, Brac said of the Bangladeshis, 37,198, the highest number, used the Central Mediterranean route.

Also, 17,639 Bangladeshis used Eastern Mediterranean routes (both sea and land), and another 857 used Western Mediterranean routes (both sea and land) to enter Europe between 2009 and May, 2021.

The other four routes are Western Balkan Route, Western African Route, Circular Route from Albania to Greece, and Eastern Borders Route.

Meanwhile, this year till June 30, Bangladesh as a country of origin topped the UNHCR chart in terms of the number of irregular migrations to Europe, with 3,332 arrivals.

Brac Migration Programme shared the grim picture of irregular migration yesterday in a presentation titled "Combating Human Trafficking and Irregular Migration: Situation Analysis, Challenges and Way Forward" during a webinar marking World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2021.

While Frontex identified nine routes for irregular migration to Europe, Brac Migration Programme Head Shariful Hasan said Brac in its own research has found 18 different routes by which Bangladeshis have migrated to Europe irregularly.

Two of such routes are Bangladesh-India-Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran-Turkey-Greece and Bangladesh-Dubai-Bahrain-Turkey-Libya-Italy.