Last year was the most fatal year for migrants, with almost 9,000 people dying worldwide, the United Nations said on Friday, calling “tragedy … unacceptable and preventable.”
“At least 8,938 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2024”, the fifth year in which the numbers have reached maximum records, said the UN Migration Agency.
“The tragedy of the growing number of deaths from migrants worldwide is unacceptable and preventable,” said Ugochi Daniels, deputy director of the International Migration Organization (IIM).
“Behind each number there is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating,” Daniels said.
“The real number of deaths and migrant disappearances is probably much greater, since many have undocumented due to the shortage of official sources,” said the IOM. He added that the identities and other details of the majority of the victims were unknown.
Asia, Africa and Europe had a record number of people who died in 2024 with 2,778, 2,242 and 233 respectively.
There was a total of 2,452 people like dying in the Mediterranean Sea, the main entrance door for those who try to reach Europe, he said.
The final data were not yet available for the Americas, but the figures so far show that at least 1,233 people died.
These included “341 unprecedented lives lost in the Caribbean in 2024 and a record of 174 deaths of migrants that cross the jungle Darien” between Colombia and Panama.
Darien’s jungle was at one time the main immigration corridor for people trying to reach the United States.
