Thousands of people died or went missing along global migration routes last year, the UN migration agency has reported. Deaths in the Mediterranean rose sharply early this year despite lower totals recorded in 2025.

At least 7,667 people went missing or died on migration routes worldwide last year, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM has called for improved financial support for rescue organizations, as well as the dismantling of smuggling networks that put lives at risk.

How Do the IOM Figures Stack up?

The total was lower than for 2024, when 9,200 deaths alone were recorded — the highest number of fatalities since data collection began in 2014.

The 2025 number is likely significantly higher, the IOM said, as many cases can no longer be documented after a sharp decline in funding for aid organizations.

Meanwhile, a sharp uptick in fatalities has already been noted in 2026. Since the beginning of this year, 606 deaths have already been recorded in the Mediterranean, more than ever before at this point in the year.

During the same period the previous year, there had been 285 cases. There are also reports of hundreds more people missing.

Boats Carrying Bodies Drifted from Africa to Brazil

According to the IOM, nearly 2,200 people were confirmed dead or missing in the Mediterranean in 2025, while around 1,200 died or disappeared on the route from West Africa to the Canary Islands. In both cases, the figures are lower than the previous year.

Among the incidents, three boats carrying the remains of 42 dead migrants were discovered off the coasts of Brazil and Caribbean islands, apparently having drifted across the Atlantic after departing from Africa en route to the Canary Islands.

In North and South America, fewer people likely attempted dangerous migration routes in 2025, the IOM said. It recorded 409 deaths, the lowest number since data collection began in 2014.

For the third consecutive year, the highest number of deaths on migration routes occurred in Asia and on routes between the Horn of Africa and Yemen and the Gulf states, where nearly 4,000 people died. According to the UN agency, this is partly due to increasing numbers of Afghans fleeing their homeland.

How Can the Deaths and Disappearances be Stopped?

The IOM said there was a need to "urgently scale up coordinated search-and-rescue operations to prevent further loss of life, strengthen international cooperation to dismantle criminal networks."

"The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal," said IOM Director General Amy Pope.

"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 reached and protected, regardless of their status."