Nearly 8,000 migrants died or went missing in 2025

The organization’s estimates showed that at least 340,000 family members of these people were directly affected.

The organization reported that, based on the results of its Displacement Tracking Matrix and its new report on migration paths, as well as new analysis from the Missing Migrants Project, although the numbers of arrivals are declining in some areas, the data shows that migration paths are changing rather than improving, with risks remaining high along increasingly dangerous journeys.

The organization’s Director-General, Amy Pope, said that migration paths are changing in response to conflicts, climate pressures and political changes. “But the risks are still very real.”.

added: “Behind these numbers are people taking perilous journeys and families waiting for news that may never come. Data are critical to understanding these pathways and designing interventions that can reduce risks, save lives and promote safer migration pathways.”.

The decline does not reflect a reduction in migratory pressure

The organization’s new report on migration paths for the year 2025 showed that the decrease in the numbers of arrivals in some areas does not reflect a decrease in migration pressure, but rather reflects a change in paths as a result of the impact of enforcement measures, conflict dynamics, and environmental pressures on existing paths.

Among the data contained in the report are the following:

⬅️ In the Americas, migratory movement northward along the Central American Route has declined sharply compared to 2024.

⬅️ In Europe, the total number of arrivals decreased, but the pattern of movement changed, with Bangladeshi nationals becoming the largest expatriate group, while the number of Syrian arrivals decreased following political and policy shifts.

⬅️ In the Horn of Africa, migratory movement towards Saudi Arabia decreased slightly compared to 2024, but remained higher than 2023 levels.

⬅️Along the West African Atlantic route, the number of arrivals to the Canary Islands decreased significantly after strengthening border cooperation, but the journeys became longer, more dangerous, and more geographically dispersed.

Ahead of the International Migration Review Forum in May, the organization called for renewed commitments to protect migrants, prevent deaths and disappearances, and provide better support to families affected by migration tragedies.