Shafaq News/ Almost 20,000 persons have left the Kurdistan region to the countries of the European Union (EU) in 2022, the chairperson of the repatriated migrants' association, Bakr Ali, said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Ali said that 19.2 thousand citizens moved to Europe from the Kurdistan region via the Turkish coasts and the Belarusian borders.

Raperin, an independent county, has the largest share of migrants in the region, with 2,300 persons.

"Twenty-nine persons perished while attempting to leave the country in 2022, seven of whom are residents of Raperin," he said, "we managed to recover some of their bodies. The remaining bodies are yet to be recovered, but we are working it out with the Kurdistan Regional Government."