The Syrian war has been raging for four years, but the number of refugees to Europe has drastically risen in 2015

Europe is struggling to manage its worst refugee emergency since World War II. More than 300,000 people have crossed to Europe by sea so far this year and more than 2,600 have died doing so. Many of those making the voyage are fleeing the civil war in Syria, now in its fifth year.

The latest update:

Austria to re-impose border controls: On Sunday, Austria announced that it planned to phase out emergency measures that have allowed thousands of refugees stranded against their will in Hungary to enter Austria and Germany since Saturday. More..

Why now?

The Syrian war has been going on for four years, but why is there a sudden spurt in flow of refugees to Europe?

1	The war is not getting any better, causing those in Syria to leave and those in exile in Turkey to give up hope of returning home.
2	Though Turkey has taken in about two million refugees, it is not a place to settle as Syrians don’t have the right to work there legally. Also, electoral setbacks for the AKP – seen as refugee-friendly -- have made many Syrians nervous.
3	U.N. bodies working with refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon and easter Europe are running out of money, making camp conditions harsher.
4	People have finally saved up enough money to pay smugglers. Every individual might spend about $3,000 to get to Germany.
5	There is now a known route through the Balkans. Syrians had not been using it, but that changed late last summer.
6	EU countries spent all year debating and procrastinating about an appropriate solution.

Source: Guardian

Young and homeless

More than half of all Syrian refugees are under the age of 18.

Male	Age	Female
9.1	0-4	8.6
10.7	5-11	10.1
6.5	12-17	6.1
21.8	18-59	24
1.4	60+	1.7

Syrians in Europe

A record 107,500 migrants crossed the European Union’s borders in July, far outstripping the previous monthly record of 70,000 in June, according to the EU border agency Frontex.

Source: Frontex, International Organization for Migration, UNHCR, Eurostat