Over 1 million migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2015, nearly half of them Syrian, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday. The milestone marks an almost fivefold increase over 2014 figures, when the UNHCR recorded 219,000 arrivals via the hazardous sea crossing. "The vast majority of those attempting this dangerous crossing are in need of international protection," the agency said. The massive movement of people this year to Europe, most of them seeking refuge from conflict, has exposed deep divisions among EU leaders on how to deal with the influx. In total, 1,000,573 made their way across the Mediterranean since Jan. 1, 2015, while 3,735 people who attempted the journey died or went missing, the UNHRC said.Greece was by far the top landing spot with 844,176 arrivals, followed by Italy, a distant second with 152,700 migrants landing on its shores. The figures underscore the enormous impact that Syria's nearly five-year civil war has had on changing migration patterns. The conflict has forced more than 4 million people to flee the country, but until this year, an overwhelming majority of them were spread out in Syria's neighbors. While Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey continue to take in massive numbers of Syrians displaced by war, U.N. figures show that beginning in the spring increasingly large numbers of Syrians tried to reach Europe. In June, more than 50,000 people crossed the sea, a number that shot up to over 150,000 by September, culminating in a record 218,000 crossings in October. After Syrians, Afghans were the second-largest group at 21 percent of arrivals this year, followed by Iraqis at 8 percent and Eritreans at 4 percent. Other migrants originated from Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Gambia and Mali, but in relatively small numbers. The U.N. has warned that there may be no letup in sea crossings next year, especially if efforts to end the conflict in Syria continue to falter.Meanwhile, rising anti-migrant rhetoric continues in parts of Europe, with Czech President Milos Zeman calling the current wave of refugees "an organized invasion" in remarks over the weekend. Hungary, too, has taken a hardline stance on migrants. Last week, the UNHCR and the European Council accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of portraying those fleeing conflict as "criminals, invaders and terrorists based on their religious beliefs and places of origin." Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico also pointed to Muslims in his country as a potential threat last month and said his government was monitoring the community in the wake of the Paris attacks. Fico sparked criticism earlier this year when he said Slovakia would prefer to accept Christian refugees under the resettlement plan.Migrants generally travel to Greece, then Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia before heading to Austria and Germany, where most want to stay. The EU has been criticized for lacking a collaborative response to the crisis. The UNHCR encouraged EU countries to do more to share the burden of the international community in the refugee crisis.