The U.N. refugee agency says nearly 770,000 asylum-seekers have entered Greece so far this year on their long trek toward a better life in wealthier European Union countries and said more than 200 have drowned en route.
UNHCR data released Wednesday said 58 percent of the 768,916 people arriving in Greece were men, 26 percent children and 16 percent women. Some 60 percent said they were Syrians.
Nearly all arrived on Greece's eastern Aegean sea islands after paying smuggling gangs in Turkey for a berth in flimsy, overcrowded boats. An average of 3,800 people a day have been making landfall this month, compared to 4,560 in November.
The UNHCR listed the total number of Greek Aegean drowning deaths by Tuesday at 217, with another 126 people listed as missing. Another 12 people drowned Wednesday in the Aegean as a smuggling boat sank, and 12 other passengers on it are missing.
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