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UN: Around 8,000 people lost their lives on migration routes in 2025

2026-02-26 16:08:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Almost 8,000 people died or went missing last year on dangerous migration routes, but the true death toll could be much higher as funding cuts have hit humanitarian access and tracking of deaths, a UN agency said.

Legal pathways for migration are shrinking, pushing more people into the hands of smugglers, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, as Europe, the US and other regions step up law enforcement and invest heavily in prevention.

"The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure that we cannot accept as normal," said IOM Director General Amy Pope in a statement released on Thursday.

“These deaths are not inevitable. When safe routes are inaccessible, people are forced to make dangerous journeys and fall into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. We must act now to expand safe and regular routes and ensure that people in need can be protected, regardless of their status.”

Although deaths along migration routes fell to 7,667 in 2025 from nearly 9,200 in 2024, as fewer people attempted dangerous irregular journeys, particularly across the Americas, the decline reflects reduced access to information and funding shortfalls that have hampered efforts to track deaths, the IOM said.

The Geneva-based organization is among several aid groups hit by major US funding cuts, forcing it to scale back or close programs in ways it says will severely impact migrants.

Sea routes remained among the deadliest journeys, with at least 2,108 people dead or missing in the Mediterranean last year and 1,047 on the Atlantic route to Spain's Canary Islands, the agency said.

About 3,000 migrant deaths were recorded in Asia, more than half of them Afghans, and 922 died crossing the Horn of Africa from Yemen to the Gulf States, a significant increase from last year. Almost all of them were Ethiopians, many of whom died in three massive shipwrecks.

The trend has continued in 2026, with migrant deaths in the Mediterranean reaching 606 by February 24, the IOM added./ CNA