IOM: More than 63,000 people dead or missing while migrating over last decade

At least 63,285 people have perished or disappeared on migration routes around the world between 2014 and 2023, with most deaths caused by drowning, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday.

A report published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on its Missing Migrants Project showed that the majority of deaths and disappearances - 28,854 - occurred in the Mediterranean, followed by Africa and Asia.

Nearly 60% of deaths documented were linked to drowning, and more than one third of those identified were from countries in conflict, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria and Ethiopia.

IOM's data showed that the deadliest year for migrants in the last decade was 2023, when it recorded 8,541 deaths in part due to a sharp increase of fatalities in the Mediterranean.

"The increase in deaths is likely linked to the increase in departures and, correspondingly, shipwrecks, off the coast of Tunisia," the report said, adding that at least 729 people died off the Tunisian coast in 2023, compared to 462 in 2022.



Reuters