Nearly 8,000 Migrant Deaths Recorded in 2025, New UN Data

Nearly 8,000 migrants were reported dead or missing worldwide in 2025, bringing the total since 2014 to more than 82,000, according to new data released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At least around 340,000 family members are estimated to have been directly affected. Despite declines in arrivals in some regions, the data shows migration routes are shifting rather than easing, with risks remaining high along increasingly dangerous journeys. 

The findings draw on IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Global Overview of Migration Routes and new analysis from the Missing Migrants Project (MMP). DTM tracks movements, changing routes and conditions along migration corridors through direct field monitoring and governmental data sources, while MMP documents migrant deaths and disappearances using official records, media reports and information from IOM missions worldwide. Together, the reports show how drivers at origin and policy changes along the routes are reshaping migration journeys, while the human cost of unsafe migration continues to rise.