2024 becomes deadliest year on record for migrants: UN migration agency

GENEVA

At least 8,938 people lost their lives on migration routes in 2024, making it the deadliest year on record, according to new data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released on Friday.

The toll surpasses the previous record of 8,747 deaths in 2023, continuing a five-year trend of increasing fatalities, the agency said in a statement.

"The tragedy of the growing number of migrant deaths worldwide is both unacceptable and preventable. Behind every number is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating," IOM Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels said.

"The increase in deaths across so many regions in the world shows why we need an international, holistic response that can prevent further tragic loss of life."

IOM data showed that 2024 was the deadliest year in multiple regions, with 2,778 deaths in Asia, 2,242 in Africa, and 233 in Europe. The Mediterranean Sea accounted for 2,452 fatalities, underscoring the urgent need for adequate search and rescue systems as well as the need for safe and regular migration routes as alternatives to this risky journey.

In the Americas, at least 1,233 people perished, including a record 341 deaths in the Caribbean and 174 in the Darien Gap.

Violence remained a significant cause of migrant deaths, according to the data, with nearly 600 lives lost in South and Southeast Asia alone. However, the true toll is likely higher, as many deaths go undocumented due to a lack of official sources.

"The rise in deaths is terrible in and of itself, but the fact that thousands remain unidentified each year is even more tragic," said Julia Black, coordinator of IOM's missing migrants project.

"Beyond the despair and unresolved questions faced by families who have lost a loved one, the lack of more complete data on risks faced by migrants hinders lifesaving responses."

GENEVA

The toll surpasses the previous record of 8,747 deaths in 2023, continuing a five-year trend of increasing fatalities, the agency said in a statement.

"The increase in deaths across so many regions in the world shows why we need an international, holistic response that can prevent further tragic loss of life."

In the Americas, at least 1,233 people perished, including a record 341 deaths in the Caribbean and 174 in the Darien Gap.

"The rise in deaths is terrible in and of itself, but the fact that thousands remain unidentified each year is even more tragic," said Julia Black, coordinator of IOM's missing migrants project.

"Beyond the despair and unresolved questions faced by families who have lost a loved one, the lack of more complete data on risks faced by migrants hinders lifesaving responses."