Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK, and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. © 2007 The Author Journal Compilation © 2007 IOM International Migration Vol. 45 (4) 2007 ISSN 0020-7985 * International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) Unauthorized Migration from Africa to Spain Jørgen Carling* AbstrAct The dynamics of unauthorized border-crossing in the Mediterranean region has received extensive media coverage but little academic attention. This article examines the patters and dynamics of transit migration towards the Spanish-African borders, and of unauthorized migration across these borders. The geography of migration is examined in detail, and this leads to several conclusions with implications for migration management. First, the origins of sub-Saharan African transit migrants in Morocco are remarkably diverse. Second, cities and towns far beyond Europe play a pivotal role in the migration dynamics at the Spanish-African borders. Third, the Strait of Gibraltar itself has lost much of its importance as a crossing point. Fourth large-scale smuggling to the Canary Islands directly from West Africa is still marginal in numerical terms, but represents a worrying scenario. INtrODUctION Since the turn of the millennium, on average about 350 African boat migrants have been intercepted along Spanish shores every week. The approximate weekly death toll among these migrants is four deaths. These igures represent an unauthorized migration low that has existed at a substantial scale for 15 years. In the past decade or so, this low has been increasingly composed of transit migrants originating in West and Central Africa, and even from Asia. Transit