Nearly 8,000 migrants died or vanished on routes worldwide in 2025

By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies

At least 7,667 people died or went missing on migration routes globally in 2025, the UN migration agency reported Thursday, warning the true toll is likely higher and calling the ongoing losses a “global failure.”

The Mediterranean Sea crossing from Africa to Europe claimed at least 2,108 lives in 2025, while another 1,047 died or vanished attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, according to IOM data. The first two months of 2026 have already seen “an unprecedented number of migrant deaths” with 606 recorded dead on the Mediterranean crossing as of Tuesday.

Underreported Crisis IOM Director General Amy Pope said “these deaths are not inevitable,” urging safer legal routes. Funding cuts to aid groups, crackdowns on humanitarian NGOs, and limited data access are hampering accurate tracking. The remains of 23 people washed up on southern Italian and Libyan coasts in the past two weeks alone, with “hundreds more missing at sea that cannot yet be verified.”

Decline in Americas Crossings The global decrease from 2024’s 9,200 deaths partly reflects fewer attempts on dangerous routes, particularly the US-Mexico border and Darien jungle, where IOM recorded the fewest deaths (409) since 2014.