Migrant deaths hit record number in 2024, UN agency says

According to the UN agency for migration, nearly 9, 000 people died last year when trying to cross borders.

For the fifth year in a row, the death toll set a new grim record. Since 2020, there have more than doubled the deaths from migrant migratory routes.

In 2024, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported 8,938 migrant fatalities. Given that many deaths go unreported or undocumented, the IOM said in a statement released on Friday that the death toll is likely much higher.

The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project’s coordinator, Julia Black, said in the statement, “The increase of deaths is terrible in and of itself, but the fact that thousands of people remain unidentified each year is even more tragic.”

Ugochi Daniels, the IOM’s deputy director general for operations, stated: “The increase in deaths across so many different regions of the world demonstrates why we need an international, holistic approach to prevent further tragic loss of life.”

A human being is hidden beneath every number, he continued. The loss is devastating for the victim.

The Mediterranean Sea, where 2, 452, and Africa, where the most fatalities were reported, were in Asia, where there were the most deaths (2, 788). At least 1, 233 deaths, including 341 in the Caribbean, were reported in 2024, though the final figures are not available for the Americas.

A new record number of migrants perished in Europe and in the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, or at least 233.

Migrants are defined as those who leave their homes on purpose or involuntarily for any reason or length of time. Some seek refuge from war or other forms of oppression.

The agency announced on Monday that it was suspending numerous “lifesaving” programs around the world and firing hundreds of employees as a result of US aid cuts, which had a record death toll, affecting millions of vulnerable immigrants and refugees around the world.