World Changing Event: European migrant crisis – Beginning in 2015, when a rising number of refugees and migrants made the journey to the European Union to seek asylum, travelling across the Mediterranean Sea, or through Southeast Europe. They came from areas such as Western and South Asia, Middle East, Africa, and the Western Balkans. From Jan-Dec 2015, illegal boarder crossings numbered: 763,958 from the Western Balkan route, 880,820 from the Easter Mediterranean route, 157,220 from the Central Mediterranean route and 25,117 from other routes. Top 3 origins were Syria, Kosovo and Afghanistan. With the majority seeking asylum in Germany, Hungary, Sweden, France and Italy. (Source: Frontex Europa)