The UK recorded the second-highest number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2025 since official data collection began in 2018, according to figures released by the British government on Thursday.
Data from the UK Home Office showed that no small boats were detected on 31 December, bringing the total number of people who crossed the Channel from France during the year to 41,472.
The figure represents the second-largest annual total on record, surpassed only by 2022, when 45,774 people were recorded making the dangerous journey. The latest numbers underline the continued pressure on the UK’s asylum and border systems, despite repeated government efforts to curb irregular migration across the Channel.
Crossings of the Channel, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, have remained a central political issue in the UK, with successive governments pledging to deter small-boat journeys through tighter border controls and closer cooperation with France.
The 2025 data confirms that, while arrivals did not reach the record levels seen three years ago, migration via the Channel remains at historically high levels, continuing to shape the national debate on immigration, border security and asylum policy.
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