A new International Organisation for Migration report has found approximately 7900 migrants died or went missing in 2025, bringing the total since 2014 to more than 80,000 deaths. Source: Crux.
“With more than 80,000 deaths and disappearances documented during migration worldwide since 2014, the nearly 8000 deaths documented in 2025 mark a continuation and escalation of a global failure to end these preventable deaths,” the UN agency stated in the annual report, released on Tuesday.
“While these figures represent only the lowest boundary of the true number of affected people, they nonetheless underscore the need for urgent action to end migrant deaths and address the complex needs of families left behind,” the IOM added.
“2025 was marked by an unprecedented level of aid cuts and restriction of information on dangerous irregular routes, rendering more and more missing migrants invisible,” the report also said.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Bishop for Refugees and Migrants at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said the report’s findings were “nothing short of a tragedy.”
“The fact that almost 8000 migrants died or went missing on journeys that were undertaken to flee conflict or to search for a better life is nothing short of a tragedy,” Bishop McAleenan said.
“As Catholics, we are often reminded that every migrant has a name, a face and a story. When that story comes to an abrupt and tragic end, it is a stark reminder of the dangers people are driven to endure: Unsafe sea crossings, exploitation, hostility, loss of dignity,” he added.
In 2024, the number of deaths was 9200 and the IOM attributed the reduction in numbers to a marked decline in people wanting to use “irregular and dangerous migration routes.”
“But it is also explained by the financial restrictions imposed on humanitarian actors who document migrant deaths on the main migration routes,” the agency added.
For Bishop McAleenan, the IOM’s report was a timely reminder of the need for safe and legal routes for migrants.
“Safe and accessible routes remain limited across both the UK and Europe, leaving many migrants with no real choice but to risk their lives. This serves as a solemn reminder of the urgent need for safe and legal pathways for those in need,” he said.
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Death of nearly 8000 migrants in 2025 is ‘nothing short of a tragedy’ says bishop (By Fionn Shiner, Crux)
