Daily Times

Last year was the deadliest year for migrants, with nearly 9,000 people dying worldwide, the United Nations said on Friday, calling the “tragedy… unacceptable and preventable”. “At least 8,938 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2024,” the fifth year that numbers have reached record highs, the UN’s migration agency said. “The tragedy of the growing number of migrant deaths worldwide is both unacceptable and preventable,” said Ugochi Daniels, the deputy director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “Behind every number is a human being, someone for whom the loss is devastating,” Daniels said. “The actual number of migrant deaths and disappearances is likely much higher, as many have gone undocumented because of the dearth of official sources,” the IOM said. It added that the identities and other details of the majority of victims were unknown. Asia, Africa and Europe had record numbers of people dying in 2024 with 2,778, 2,242 and 233 respectively. A total of 2,452 people were recorded as dying in the Mediterranean Sea, the main gateway for those trying to reach Europe, it said. Final data were not available yet for the Americas but figures so far show at least 1,233 people died.