IOM: 8,540 migrants died in 2023, 60% drowned

The International Organization for Migration reported that 2023 was the deadliest year for migrants in modern history, with more than 8,540 deaths, and 60 percent of those who died drowned. One in three deaths occurs while fleeing armed conflicts.

2023 was the deadliest year for migrants in modern history: more than 8,540 deaths, 60 percent of those who died drowned. This was reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN press service reports.

“The trends in 2024 remain equally worrying. "The number of deaths on the Mediterranean route is almost as high as before: 956 deaths have been recorded since January 1," the report said.

According to the UN, one in three deaths among migrants occurs while fleeing armed conflict.

More than two-thirds of migrants whose deaths have been documented remain unidentified . According to the UN Missing Migrants Project, the bodies of 26,666 people who died during migration have not been found to date.

"According to the available data, in the last ten years, about 5,500 women have died along the migration routes, and the number of identified children is 3,500," said Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General of IOM for Operations.

According to him, the real number of deaths of women and children is much higher, because the total number of deaths of migrants without any information on gender or age is about 37 thousand.

According to the IOM, one in three migrant deaths originate from conflict-affected or refugee-rich countries.

This shows that those who try to leave conflict zones without safe routes face deadly risks, the IOM says. And the deadliest route remains the center of the Mediterranean. At least 23,092 people have died in the region since 2014, the organization said.

The UN migration agency is calling on countries and other partners to work together to end the high death rate among migrants and to address the consequences of tens of thousands of deaths along migration routes around the world.