In 2023, at least 8,565 people died on migration routes worldwide. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was the deadliest year of the decade.
“The number of deaths in 2023 represents a tragic increase of 20 percent compared to 2022, highlighting the need for urgent action to prevent further loss of life,” the IOM statement said.
Last year’s numbers beat the previous record set in 2016, according to the IOM. In 2016, eight thousand and eighty-four people died during migration. According to the IOM, as safe and regular migration routes are limited, thousands of people attempt to migrate through irregular routes in unsafe conditions every year.
The Mediterranean Sea has become the deadliest route for migrants. At least 3,129 deaths and disappearances were recorded last year. More than half of the total migrant deaths in 2023 were due to drowning. 9 percent were due to vehicle accidents and 7 percent were due to violence.
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project was established in 2014 as an open-access database on migrant deaths and disappearances. Since then, 63,000 cases have been documented worldwide. However, the actual figure is highly overestimated due to challenges in data collection, especially in remote locations.
“As we mark 10 years of the Missing Migrants Project, we first remember those who lost their lives,” said IOM Deputy Director-General Ugoji Daniels, “Each of them is a terrible human tragedy that will reverberate through families and communities for years to come.