August M
Almost 8,000 people died or went missing on migration routes last year, according to the United Nations’ migration agency, which warned that the true figure is likely much higher.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said funding cuts and reduced access to affected areas have made it harder to document fatalities, masking the full scale of the crisis.
The figures were released on Thursday in a statement from the Geneva-based agency, reports Reuters.
Warning from IOM
The IOM recorded 7,667 deaths and disappearances along global migration corridors in 2025, down from nearly 9,200 the previous year. However, it said the apparent drop may reflect reduced monitoring capacity rather than improved safety.
Legal migration pathways are narrowing in many regions, pushing people towards irregular journeys organised by smugglers, the agency said. Governments in Europe, the United States and elsewhere have increased enforcement and invested heavily in deterrence measures.
“The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in the statement.
“These deaths are not inevitable. When safe pathways are out of reach, people are forced into dangerous journeys and into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. We must act now to expand safe and regular routes and ensure people in need can be protected, regardless of their status.”
Deadliest crossings
Sea passages remained particularly dangerous. The IOM reported at least 2,108 deaths or disappearances in the Mediterranean and 1,047 along the Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands.
In Asia, roughly 3,000 migrant deaths were documented, with Afghans accounting for more than half. The agency also recorded 922 fatalities on the route from Yemen across the Horn of Africa towards Gulf states, a sharp rise from the previous year. Most were Ethiopians, many of whom died in three separate shipwrecks.
The organisation said it has been affected by significant U.S. funding cuts, forcing it to scale back or close some programmes that support migrants and monitor risks.
The trend appears to be continuing. By February 24 this year, 606 migrant deaths had already been recorded in the Mediterranean, the IOM said, underscoring what it described as an ongoing humanitarian emergency.
Sources: Reuters, International Organization for Migration
