In a distressing revelation, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration disclosed that a staggering 8,565 migrants lost their lives on both land and sea routes worldwide in 2023, marking a record high since the commencement of mortality tracking a decade ago.
The International Organisation for Migration highlighted the alarming surge in fatalities, with the Mediterranean Sea witnessing the most substantial increase. Fatalities on this perilous crossing escalated to 3,129 from 2,411 in 2022. Despite this surge, the numbers remained below the peak recorded in 2016, when a substantial number of Syrians, Afghans, and others fled conflicts towards Europe.
The total number of migrant deaths in 2023 surged by nearly 20% compared to 2022, with drowning accounting for a significant portion, approximately 3,700 deaths.
The Geneva-based migration agency cautioned that these figures likely underestimate the actual toll, attributing factors such as enhanced data collection methods to its calculations.
Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General of IOM, remarked, “Every single one of them is a terrible human tragedy that reverberates through families and communities for years to come.”
Furthermore, Asia witnessed the most significant surge in deaths in recent years, with over 2,000 migrants losing their lives compared to an annual average of under 1,000 since 2014. The rise in fatalities in Asia was primarily attributed to increased deaths among Afghans fleeing to neighboring Iran and Rohingya refugees on maritime routes.
Additionally, a record number of deaths occurred in Africa last year—1,866—mostly in the Sahara Desert and along the sea route to the Canary Islands.
The agency also cited challenges in data collection in remote areas, such as the perilous “Darien Gap” in Panama, a passage for many migrants from South America heading north.
The “Missing Migrants” project by IOM, established in 2014 following a surge in deaths in the Mediterranean and an influx of migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa off Tunisia, continues to tally the figures.
