Last year was the deadliest year for migrants, with nearly 9,000 people dying worldwide, the United Nations said on Friday, calling it an "unacceptable and preventable" tragedy.
"At least 8,938 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2024," the UN's migration agency said. "The 2024 toll continues a five-year trend of more deaths each year."
“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 agency said.
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, it added.
