UN reports record high 8938 migrants died in 2024

The 2024 toll continues a five-year trend of more deaths each year and last year's toll tops the previous record in 2023, when 8,747 migrant deaths were recorded. 

“The tragedy of the growing number of migrant deaths worldwide is both unacceptable and preventable. Behind every number is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating,” said IOM Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels. “The increase in deaths across so many regions in the world shows why we need an international, holistic response that can prevent further tragic loss of life.”   

In addition to globally, 2024 was the deadliest year on record across most regions in the world, including in Asia (2,778 people recorded dead), Africa (2,242) and Europe (233).

The 2,452 deaths documented in the Mediterranean Sea in 2024 are not the largest annual total ever, but the large number shows the need for adequate search and rescue systems as well as the need for safe and regular migration routes as alternatives to this risky journey.  

Final data is not yet in for the Americas, but at least 1,233 deaths occurred in 2024.

That includes an unprecedented 341 lives lost in the Caribbean in 2024 and a record 174 deaths of migrants crossing the Darién.  

Deaths Due To Violence 

Across the world, deaths due to violence remained prevalent for people on the move.

Since 2022, at least 10 per cent of all migrant deaths recorded occurred because of violence. In 2024, this was due in large part to violence against those in transit in Asia, with nearly 600 lives lost on migration routes across South and South-eastern Asia. 

The actual number of migrant deaths and disappearances is likely much higher, as many have gone undocumented because of the dearth of official sources. In addition, the identities and demographic characteristics of the majority of people who have died or gone missing are unknown. 

“The rise in deaths is terrible in and of itself, but the fact that thousands remain unidentified each year is even more tragic,” said Julia Black, coordinator of IOM’s Missing Migrants Project. “Beyond the despair and unresolved questions faced by families who have lost a loved one, the lack of more complete data on risks faced by migrants hinders lifesaving responses.”  

To help address this gap, the Missing Migrants Project’s upcoming annual report provides detailed analysis of data on migrant deaths in 2024, as well as new analysis on missing migrants in humanitarian crises. The rising death toll detailed here and in the forthcoming report highlights the need for safe, legal routes for people on the move: the only sustainable solution to the crisis of migrant deaths.