More Than Half of Migrant Deaths Are From Drowning

At least 8,565 people died on international migration routes in 2023, according to data from the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This marks the deadliest year on record, up 20 percent from one year before.

"These frightening figures collected by the Missing Migrants Project are also a reminder that we must take increased action to ensure safe migration for all, so that in ten years no people will be leaving their lives in search of a better one”, said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General.

As the following chart shows, the Mediterranean is by far the deadliest route for migrants, having claimed the lives of at least 3,129 victims in 2023 alone. Last year, thousands of migrants also died in Africa (1,866), largely in the Sahara Desert and on the sea route to the Canary Islands, as well as in Asia (2,138), where hundreds of Afghans and Rohingya died after fleeing their homes.

More than half of the dead or missing are presumed to have drowned. 13 percent of the recorded deaths were linked to vehicle accidents or hazardous transport and ten percent were victims of violence.

The IOM writes that actual figures are likely far higher due to data collection challenges, citing remote locations such as Panama's Darien National Park as an example as well as maritime routes, where "invisible" shipwrecks occur.