The Slovenian police processed a total of 15,456 cases of illegal crossings of the border in the first five months of the year, which is three times more than in the same period in 2022. The top countries of origin of the illegal migrants were Afghanistan, Morocco and Russia.

Citizens of Afghanistan accounted for around a fifth of all illegal crossings of the border, at 2,569. Interestingly, more than 2,100 Moroccans entered Slovenia illegally in the first five months of 2023, compared to just 89 in the same period in 2022.

Similarly, there were more than 1,500 Russian illegal migrants in 2023 but only 24 in 2022, show figures released by the Slovenian police.

Most migrants expressed the intention to file for international protection, totalling 14,705, almost quadruple the figure in 2022.

However, only 2,521 requests for international protection have been filed, down from the 3,023 filed in the first five months of 2022.