Over 700,000 refugees and migrants reached Europe in 2015: UN

Over 700,000 refugees and migrants have made the journey across the Mediterranean into Europe amid the continent's largest population movement since World War II, the UN's refugee agency told AFP Tuesday.

Some 562,355 people arrived on the shores of Greece, and an additional 140,000 arrived in Italy. The combined number of arrivals to other shores on the continent brings the total to more than 705,200, AFP reported.

According to UN figures, more than half of the arrivals were from Syria, where conflict has displaced another seven million people inside the country. 18 percent of arrivals were from Afghanistan, and six percent from Iraq.

Children made up 20 percent of the total arrivals.

The perilous journey across the Mediterranean has left 3,210 dead or missing, with many people drowned as boats capsized from being overloaded.

The massive influx of migrants and refugees has shown no sign of slowing. Europe's International Organization for Migration reported the arrival of 5,239 people on the shores of Greece Saturday and another 4,199 on Sunday.