The refugees streaming out of Syria have put severe stress on neighboring Middle Eastern countries, which have absorbed more than two million of them since the Syrian conflict began 30 months ago. Now Europe is beginning to feel the effects of the refugee crisis.

The United Nations refugee agency said Friday that boatloads of Syrians are crossing the Mediterranean and coming ashore in southern Italy at an increased pace, with a surge of 3,300 in the past 40 days, including more than 230 unaccompanied children. The government of Sweden, which this month became the first and only one in Europe to promise asylum to Syrians who were in the country, on Friday reported a spike in visits to its Middle East embassies from Syrians who mistakenly thought they could apply for asylum while still abroad.

It was unclear whether the increased flow of refugees into Europe was related to the crisis over chemical weapons use in Syria that escalated with an attack in the Damascus suburbs on Aug. 21. But the United Nations refugee agency said in a report on its Web site that of the more than 4,600 Syrians who had arrived in Italy by sea since the start of the year, two-thirds arrived in August.

The report said most had come by way of Egypt, although some had begun their journeys to Europe from Turkey. Most of the arrivals were families with children, it said. The report also said many were originally from the Damascus area and included Palestinians born in Syria.