Nearly 9,000 migrant deaths recorded last year by UN migration agency, real death toll likely higher

GENEVA — Nearly 9,000 people have died last year attempting to cross borders, the UN agency for migration said Friday. The death toll set a new record for the fifth year in a row.

The International Organization for Migration recorded at least 8,938 migrant deaths in 2024. However, the real death toll is likely much higher given that many deaths go unreported or undocumented IOM said in a statement.

“The rise of deaths is terrible in and of itself, but the fact that thousands remained unidentified each year is even more tragic,” Julia Black, coordinator of IOM's Missing Migrants Projects said in the statement.

Asia was the region with the most reported fatalities with 2,788 migrant deaths, followed by the Mediterranean Sea with 2,452 and Africa with 2,242. IOM said there were also an “unprecedented 341 lives lost in the Caribbean," 233 in Europe and 174 in the Darién crossing between Colombia and Panama, a new record.

News of the record death toll comes only days after the agency announced it was suspending many “lifesaving” programs around the world and firing hundreds of employees due to U.S.-led aid cuts impacting millions of vulnerable migrants worldwide.