At least 8,565 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2023, making it the deadliest year on record, according to data collected by the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project.
“The 2023 death toll represents a tragic increase of 20 per cent compared to 2022, highlighting the urgent need for action to prevent further loss of life,” IOM noted.
Last year’s total surpasses the number of dead and missing globally in the previous record year of 2016, when 8,084 people died during migration, making it the deadliest year since the Missing Migrants Project’s inception in 2014. As safe and regular migration pathways remain limited, hundreds of thousands of people attempt to migrate every year via irregular routes in unsafe conditions. Slightly more than half of the deaths were a result of drowning, with nine per cent caused by vehicle accidents, and seven per cent by violence.
The Mediterranean crossing continues to be the deadliest route for migrants on record, with at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances, IOM reported. This is the highest death toll recorded in the Mediterranean since 2017.
Regionally, unprecedented numbers of migrant deaths were recorded across Africa (1,866) and Asia (2,138). In Africa, most of these deaths occurred in the Sahara Desert and the sea route to the Canary Islands. In Asia, hundreds of deaths of Afghan and Rohingya refugees fleeing their countries of origin were recorded last year, IOM said.
Established in 2014 following two devastating shipwrecks off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy, the Missing Migrants Project is recognized as the sole indicator measuring the level of “safety” of migration in the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
An upcoming report provides detailed analysis of missing migrants data from 2023 and key facts and figures on migrant deaths and disappearances over the last ten years.
The Immigration and Refugee News Digest 