A new data released today by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has revealed that about 8,000 migrants were reported dead or missing worldwide in 2025, bringing the total since 2014 to more than 82,000.

 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.

“Routes are shifting 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 taking dangerous journeys and families left waiting for news that may never come. Data is critical to understanding these routes and designing interventions that can reduce risks, save lives and promote safer migration pathways.”

The 2025 Global Overview of Migration Routes shows that lower arrival figures in some regions do not reflect reduced migration pressure, but rather changing journeys as enforcement measures, conflict dynamics and environmental stress have altered established pathways.

In the Americas, northbound movements along the Central American route fell sharply compared to 2024. In Europe, overall arrivals declined, but the profile of movements changed, with Bangladeshi nationals becoming the largest group arriving while Syrian arrivals fell following political and policy shifts.

In the Horn of Africa, movements towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decreased slightly from 2024 but remained above 2023 levels, while flows from East Africa towards Southern Africa increased late in the year due to shifting labour demands in southern Ethiopia. Along the Western African Atlantic route, arrivals to the Canary Islands dropped significantly after strengthened border cooperation, but journeys have become longer, riskier and more geographically dispersed.

Across regions, DTM data shows persistent pressures along migration routes. Thousands of migrants were stranded in border areas with limited access to shelter, health care and protection, while returns and relocations increased, placing additional strain on local services and complicating reintegration.

Together, the findings show that changing routes do not mean reduced harm. As journeys become more fragmented and hazardous, deaths, disappearances and the suffering of families left behind remain a persistent reality.

The reports reflect IOM’s route-based approach, linking mobility tracking with analysis of risks and fatalities to better target interventions, prioritize resources and support governments along key migration corridors.

Ahead of the International Migration Review Forum in May, IOM is calling for renewed commitments to protect migrants, prevent deaths and disappearances, and better support families affected by migration tragedies. The Organization says the evidence is clear: fewer movements do not automatically mean safer journeys, and saving lives requires stronger international cooperation and sustained investment in evidence-based responses.

Security operatives in Libya have in different operations   incepted human smugglers and rescued the victims.

According to Migrant Rescue Watch Police during desert patrols on April 14, intercepted a vehicle carrying 23 undocumented #migrants including women & children of sub-Saharan nationalities. “All transferred to Al-Shatti Security Directorate pending DCIM notification.

On April  13, Migrant Rescue Watch said  Libyan Navy PB “Al-Marqab” rescued off the coast of Tobruk 32 #migrants of Bangladeshi, Egyptian & Sudanese nationalities. All disembarked in Tobruk Naval Base where they were provided with medical & humanitarian assistance by LRC.

It added that Libyan Coast Guard (Gen.Cmd.) rescued 130 nm NE of Tobruk 33 #migrants of Bangladeshi, Egyptian and Sudanese nationalities. All disembarked in Tobruk Naval Base.

About the same period it said the CID in Tobruk thwarted a major human smuggling operation and seized a truck transporting 150 undocumented #migrants of Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationalities.

Aegean Boat Report has condemned alleged shooting of 38 people including children by the Greek Coast Guard.

Late Friday night, @BoatReport said “Greek authorities say Coast Guard personnel fired gunshots to stop a high-powered speedboat carrying 38 people north of Rhodes. According to the official statement, warning shots were fired first, followed by what the Coast Guard calls “targeted gunfire” aimed at disabling the vessel.”

According to @BoatReport, this explanation raises serious questions.

It said firing at a small moving boat in the dark, from another moving vessel at sea, while 38 civilians — including many children — are onboard, is not a controlled or precise operation. It is extremely dangerous.

“Even a trained marksman would struggle to hit a specific target under such conditions. From a moving patrol vessel, in the dark, using a handgun or shotgun, the idea of accurately hitting a precise point on a fast-moving boat is highly questionable.

“Bullets can easily miss, ricochet off the hull, or strike people onboard. The boat was reportedly packed with passengers. So the central question remains: Why did they open fire at all?

@BoatReport added that “Greek authorities claim, as they routinely do in such incidents, that the vessel was “maneuvering dangerously and putting lives at risk.” But was it actually maneuvering dangerously — or simply trying to get away from the Coast Guard?

“Because once officers begin firing at a vessel carrying 38 people — 15 of them small children — the question of who is truly putting lives at risk becomes unavoidable.”

@BoatReport noted that if the intention was to arrest the smugglers, there were safer alternatives, adding  “boats transporting migrants often attempt to return to Turkey after dropping passengers. Allowing the passengers to disembark safely and intercepting the vessel on its return would avoid placing dozens of civilians directly in the line of fire.

“Instead, gunfire was used against a boat filled with men, women and children.This is not the first time such reckless actions have been reported. Outside Symi, a man was shot in the head during what authorities also described as “targeted shots.” More recently, off Chios, a Coast Guard vessel collided with a migrant boat during a high-speed chase, leaving 15 people dead.

In this case, no one was killed. But that does not make the decision any less dangerous.

One must also ask whether the onboard cameras on the Coast Guard vessel were operating during this incident. In previous cases, footage that could clarify what happened has often been unavailable, with cameras reportedly “not activated” or “not functioning.”

“Once again, the Greek Coast Guard appears willing to place the lives of civilians — including children — at extreme risk in the name of border enforcement.It is only a matter of time before such actions end in tragedy again.According to authorities, the 38 people onboard were eventually taken to land on Rhodes: 17 men, six women and 15 children. Two of the men, Turkish nationals aged 41 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of smuggling.”