Madar (Rabat) - Some 4,162 migrants reached Spain's Canary Islands by boat between August 16 and October 15, 2026, compared with 1,608 in the same period of 2025, a rise of 159%, according to Spanish Interior Ministry figures published by the daily La Razon on Wednesday, October 21, and reported by Moroccan news site Hespress on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
The increase marks a sharp reversal after months of decline. Daily arrivals averaged 21 before mid-August and climbed to 68 over the following two months. The pace picked up most between September 16 and October 15, when 3,378 migrants arrived, against 784 in the previous month.
Despite the surge, total arrivals since January remain 33.5% below last year's level, with 8,970 migrants recorded by October 15 against 13,491 in 2025.
Spanish media citing police sources estimate that about 60% of the boats reaching the islands leave from Morocco's Atlantic coast. La Razon counted 25 boats carrying 1,561 migrants that departed from Moroccan-controlled coastal areas since September 14, compared with 24 boats that set off from farther south in West Africa.
The Canary Islands regional government has asked for additional police resources and the deployment of the EU border agency Frontex, while local officials have warned of mounting pressure on reception facilities, particularly on El Hierro, where several recent arrivals involved deaths at sea.
