UN Data Shows Nearly 8,000 People Died or Disappeared on Migration Route in 2025

JAKARTA - Nearly 8,000 people died or went missing on migration routes last year, with the sea route to Europe the deadliest, according to the United Nations (UN).

The U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) said many of the victims were lost in "invisible shipwrecks," while releasing new figures in a report on Tuesday.

"These numbers are proof of our collective failure to prevent this tragedy," Maria Moita, who heads the UN agency's humanitarian and response department, told a news conference, quoted by Al Jazeera (22/4).

The 7,904 people counted by the UN as dead or missing in 2025 is a decrease from the all-time high of 9,197 in 2024, the IOM said in its report.

However, the IOM added that the decline was partly due to 1,500 suspected cases that were not verified due to aid cuts.

The total number of deaths since 2014 exceeds 82,000, with an estimated 340,000 family members directly affected.

More than four out of every 10 deaths and disappearances occur on the sea route to Europe, the IOM reports.

"In Europe, overall arrivals have declined, but the profile of movements has changed, with Bangladeshi nationals being the largest group to arrive while Syrian arrivals have declined following political and policy shifts," the report said.

Many cases are so-called "invisible ship accidents", where entire ships disappear at sea and are never found.

The West African route to the north accounted for 1,200 deaths, while Asia reported the highest death toll, including hundreds of Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar or suffering in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The organization stressed that data showed migration routes "are shifting rather than easing, with risks remaining high along increasingly dangerous journeys."

"Migration routes are changing in response to conflict, climate pressures and policy changes, but the risks are still very real," said IOM Director General Amy Pope.

"Behind these numbers are people making dangerous journeys and families waiting for news that may never come," he added.