Nearly 8,000 migrants lost their lives or vanished while attempting treacherous journeys across dangerous routes worldwide in 2025, according to a United Nations agency that warns the actual number is probably much greater.
The International Organization for Migration released data Thursday showing that funding reductions have severely limited humanitarian organizations’ ability to monitor and document migrant deaths along routes including the Mediterranean Sea and Horn of Africa region.
As legal immigration options continue to diminish, more desperate individuals are turning to human smugglers for help, the organization explained. This trend comes as Europe, the United States, and other destinations increase border enforcement and pour resources into deterrence measures.
“The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement published on Thursday.
“These deaths are not inevitable. When safe pathways are out of reach, people are forced into dangerous journeys and into the hands of smugglers and traffickers. We must act now to expand safe and regular routes and ensure people in need can be protected, regardless of their status.”
While the documented fatalities dropped from approximately 9,200 in 2024 to 7,667 in 2025, this decrease doesn’t necessarily indicate improved safety. Instead, the IOM attributes the lower numbers to reduced irregular migration attempts, particularly throughout the Americas, combined with limited information access and budget constraints that have weakened death-tracking capabilities.
The Geneva-headquartered organization faces significant challenges after major U.S. funding reductions forced it to reduce or eliminate programs that directly support migrants.
Ocean crossings continue to represent the deadliest migration attempts, with the Mediterranean claiming at least 2,108 lives in 2025, while another 1,047 people died or disappeared along the Atlantic passage to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Asian routes accounted for approximately 3,000 migrant deaths, with more than half involving Afghan nationals. An additional 922 people perished while crossing from Yemen through the Horn of Africa toward Gulf States, marking a dramatic rise from the previous year. Ethiopian migrants comprised nearly all of these casualties, with many dying in three separate mass shipwrecks.
The deadly pattern has carried into 2026, with Mediterranean migrant deaths already reaching 606 by February 24, the IOM reported.
