Almost 8,000 died on migration routes in 2025 but toll likely far higher, says UN agency

Coast guards carry bags with the bodies of drowned migrants, following a shipwreck off the tiny southern Greek island of Chrysi, in the port of Ierapetra, Crete island, Greece, December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis/File Photo

BRUSSELS - Feb 26 (Reuters) - ⁠Almost 8,000 people died or went missing last year on perilous migration routes ⁠such as across the Mediterranean and Horn of Africa, but the real toll ‌is likely far higher as cuts in funding have hit humanitarian access and tracking of deaths, a U.N. agency said.

Legal pathways for migration are shrinking, pushing more people into the hands of smugglers, the International Organization ​for Migration said, as Europe, the U.S. and other ⁠regions ramp up enforcement and invest ⁠heavily in deterrence.