At least 8,938 people died during migration in 2024, making it the deadliest year for migrants globally, according to new data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The figure surpassed the previous record of 8,747 deaths set in 2023 and continues a five-year trend of rising deaths along global migration routes.
Ugochi Daniels, IOM’s deputy director general for operations, described the rising death toll as unacceptable. He said:
“Behind every number is a person for whom that loss is catastrophic. The rising death toll in many regions shows why we need an international, holistic response that can prevent further tragic loss of life.”
The death toll rose in almost all regions. Asia had 2,778 deaths, Africa 2,242, and Europe 233. In the Mediterranean Sea, 2,452 fatalities were recorded in 2024, highlighting the continued risks along one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes.
While this figure is not the highest ever recorded in the Mediterranean, it highlights what IOM believes is still a need to improve search and rescue operations and create safe, legal alternatives to illegal crossings.
In the Americas, at least 1,233 migrants died in 2024, including a record 341 in the Caribbean and 174 in the Strait of Darien between Colombia and Panama. Final figures for the region have yet to be compiled.
Major cause of migrant deaths
Violence remains a major cause of migrant deaths. From 2022, violence accounts for at least 10 per cent of all recorded deaths. In 2024, about 600 people died as a result of violence while in transit through South and Southeast Asia.
The IOM warned that the actual number of deaths is likely higher due to underreporting. Limited access to official sources and the large number of unidentified victims continue to obscure the full scale of the crisis.
According to the IOM report, the number of deaths along migration routes around the world in 2023 has increased by 20 per cent compared to 2022.
The organisation stresses the need for urgent action to prevent further loss of life, especially as safe migration routes are not accessible to all. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people risk their lives trying to cross borders via illegal routes in dangerous conditions.
The most dangerous route
The Mediterranean Sea remains the most dangerous route for migrants, with more than 3,000 deaths and disappearances recorded last year alone.
In 2014, IOM launched the Missing Migrants Project, a publicly accessible database of migrant deaths and disappearances. The project started keeping statistics after two shipwrecks in 2013 off the coast of Lampedusa. About 400 migrants died in the disasters then.
More than 63,000 cases have been documented by the project worldwide, although the actual number is probably much higher. More than 4,000 died violent deaths along migration routes. The remains of more than 26,000 people who died during the migration have not been found.
Julia Black, IOM’s Missing Migrants Project Coordinator, said the lack of data hinders an effective response. She claimed:
“Thousands of people go unidentified every year. In addition to the desperation and unresolved issues facing families, the lack of better data on the risks migrants face hinders life-saving interventions.”
IOM’s upcoming annual report will provide a detailed analysis of migrant deaths in 2024, as well as expanded data from humanitarian crisis zones where migrants are known to go missing.
