U.N.: 8,565 people died on global migrant routes in 2023, highest on record

March 6 (UPI) -- The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration said Wednesday 2023 was the deadliest year on record for migrants.

At least 8,565 people died on global migration routes in 2023, up 20% from 2022, according to data from IOM's Missing Migrants Project.

"Every single one of them is a terrible human tragedy that reverberates through families and communities for years to come," said IOM Deputy Director General Ugochi Daniels in a statement. "These horrifying figures collected by the Missing Migrants Project are also a reminder that we must recommit to greater action that can ensure safe migration for all, so that 10 years from now, people aren't having to risk their lives in search of a better one."

The deadliest migrant route was the Mediterranean crossing where at least 3,129 people died or disappeared in 2023, the highest for that region since 2017.

In Asia, 2,138 migrants died in 2023, including hundreds of Afghan and Rohingya refugees trying to escape their countries of origin.

Most of the 1,866 deaths in Africa happened in the Shara Desert and the sea route to the Canary Islands, according to the IOM data.

Since 2014 the IOM's Missing Migrants Project has documented the deaths of 63,872 migrants.

Of that total, 29,132 died on Mediterranean migrant routes, followed by 14,394 migrant deaths in Africa and 9,101 in the Americas.

Asia had 7,267 migrants deaths since 2014 while western Asia had 2,701. Europe had the fewest migrant deaths at 1,124.