IOM Reports 7,904 Migrant Deaths in 2025

Nearly 8,000 migrants died or disappeared while attempting to cross global migration routes in 2025, according to a report released Tuesday by the United Nations' International Organization for Migration. The figure of 7,904 fatalities and missing persons marked a decline from the record 9,197 recorded in 2024, though the agency attributed part of the drop to unverified cases amid significant aid reductions that limited data collection.

The report, part of the IOM's Missing Migrants Project, highlighted sea routes to Europe as the deadliest pathways, accounting for more than four in every 10 deaths and disappearances. Of the 3,400 cases on these routes, 1,330 occurred on the central Mediterranean crossing, while over 1,200 took place along the West African-Atlantic route toward Spain's Canary Islands. Many incidents involved so-called invisible shipwrecks, where entire vessels vanished at sea without trace, complicating rescue and recovery efforts.

Asia saw a record number of fatalities in 2025, with nearly 900 deaths and disappearances during sea crossings in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. This route, used predominantly by Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar or...