At least 8,938 migrants died on their journeys worldwide in 2024, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on March 21, 2025. That makes it the deadliest year since the agency began keeping statistics in 2014.
The count was nearly 200 higher than in 2023, itself a record. Deaths on migratory routes have more than doubled since 2020 and have risen steadily for five years.
“The tragedy of the growing number of migrant deaths worldwide is both unacceptable and preventable,” said Ugochi Daniels, deputy director of the IOM, a United Nations body. “Behind every number is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating.”
Regional totals
Asia was the deadliest region. At least 2,778 migrants died there, 624 more than a year earlier, according to the IOM-affiliated Missing Migrants Project.
The Mediterranean came second with 2,452 deaths, down 703. Africa followed with 2,242, an increase of 367.
Final data for the Americas were not yet available, but at least 1,233 people had died. That total includes 341 deaths in the Caribbean and a record 174 among migrants crossing the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama.
Violence on the routes
Since 2022, at least 10% of deaths have been caused by violence, the IOM reported. Smugglers and gangs often harass migrants to extort money. Authorities detain others in camps in appalling conditions, as in Libya. Some die in boats that are barely seaworthy as they try to reach another country’s shores.
“The actual number of migrant deaths and disappearances is likely much higher, as many have gone undocumented due to the dearth of official sources,” the IOM said.
Since the surveys began in 2014, more than 74,000 migrants have been reported dead or missing. The IOM defines a migrant as anyone who leaves their place of residence, for any reason and any length of time, whether voluntarily or not. Some are asylum seekers fleeing war or violence.
