At least 7,667 people died or went missing while attempting to migrate last year, according to new data published on Thursday by the International Organization for Migration. That equates to 21 migrant deaths every day in 2025.
Highlighting the need for greater global action to dismantle smuggling networks that exploit people on the move, the agency's Director General Amy Pope said, "The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal".
In 2025, at least 2,185 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean while 1,214 were recorded on the Western Africa/Atlantic route toward the Canary Islands - reflecting how sea crossings remained among the deadliest routes.
Despite year-on-year declines, the real toll is likely higher, as at least 1,500 additional people were reported missing at sea but could not be verified due to limited access to search-and-rescue information.?
However, at least 270 human remains washed ashore in the Mediterranean in 2025 without being linked to any shipwrecks.
Furthermore, three vessels that had attempted to make the Canary Islands crossing were later found drifting to Brazil and the Caribbean with the remains of 42 people on board.
The International Organization for Migration also provided information from other regions including the Americas, where 409 deaths were recorded in 2025 - the lowest number since the start of data collection in 2014.
This is likely due to fewer people crossing through the perilous Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, the US-Mexico border and other irregular routes.
IOM urged governments and partners to scale up coordinated search-and-rescue operations to prevent further loss of life, strengthen international cooperation to dismantle criminal networks, and expand safe and regular migration.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.