More than 200,000 migrants have crossed Channel in small boats since 2018

More than 200,000 people have arrived in the UK in small boats since records began eight years ago.

Sky News understands the milestone was reached on Friday when the new arrivals brought the total number to 200,013, the latest data published on Saturday shows.

The Home Office, which started recording the number of small boat arrivals in 2018, said 70 people crossed the English Channel on Friday, bringing the total number this year to 7,380.

In total, about 41,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2025, a 13% increase on 2024.

This was fewer than in 2022, when a record 46,000 migrants arrived via this route.

The average number of people per small boat has increased each year, from seven people per boat in 2018 to 62 people per boat in 2025.

The crossing is treacherous, with a total of 162 people dying in the Channel between 2018 and 2025.

In 2025, there were 24 confirmed deaths related to Channel crossings, down from 73 the year before.

Just last week, a 16-year-old girl and a woman died while trying to cross the English Channel from France in a small boat carrying around 82 people.

Despite the recent deaths, channel crossings have been tracking lower so far in 2026 compared with last year, when arrivals were 36% lower and 16% lower in 2024, at the same point in the year.

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Successive governments have attempted to work with France to disrupt crossings, and sought to revise the rules for claiming asylum in the UK to deter people from making the dangerous journey.

In April, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a three-year agreement with France to pay £662m to support beach patrols as part of efforts to drive down crossings.

She has also sought to overhaul the asylum system to deter crossings and deport people without the right to remain in the UK more easily.

Just over a third of the total, 72,094, have arrived since Labour won power in July 2024.

The remaining 127,919 arrivals made the journey under Conservative governments that spanned four Tory prime ministers including Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.

(c) Sky News 2026: More than 200,000 migrants have crossed Channel in small boats since 2018