English Channel crossings: 10 key statistics from the small boats crisis in 2021

Thousands of people risked their lives attempting to cross the English Channel to the UK in 2021, despite the journey being fraught with peril.

Men, women and children crammed into unsafe dinghies reached Britain from France on more than 40% of days last year.

The PA news agency tracked and analysed crossings all year. Some key numbers include:

– 28,395

At least this many people reached the UK on board small boats in 2021

– More than 1,000

The number of boats believed to have been met by Border Force or landed on UK beaches

– At least 27

The death toll when a dinghy headed for Britain sank off the coast of France in November

– 1,185

The number of people who crossed to the UK on November 11 – the current single-day record.

– 3,114

The number of people who crossed during a seven-day period in November.

– January

The month with the lowest number of successful crossings (223), one of only four months last year with a figure below 1,600.

– November

The month with the highest number of people reaching the UK in small boats (6,869), nearly the entire total for 2020.

– 41%

Days in 2021 when at least one boat successfully crossed to the UK.

– About 28

Average number of people travelling aboard each small boat that arrived in the UK in 2021, up from just over 13 in 2020.

– 20,000

Last year saw an increase of around 20,000 on 2020’s total for small boats arrivals.