A Decade of Documenting Migrant Deaths: Data analysis and reflection on deaths during migration documented by IOM's Missing Migrants Project, 2014-2023
In October 2013, more than 600 people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after two shipwrecks took place off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. These tragedies inspired responses from policymakers and partners across Europe and the world, and the beginning of IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, which since 2014 has documented deaths and disappearances during migration worldwide.
This report sheds insights on MMP data to inform action to make migration safe for all. It starts with a brief overview of migrant deaths and disappearances documented in 2023, highlighting the increases in recorded fatalities across nearly all regions of the world. A holistic analysis of the last decade of MMP data is then presented, including the main countries of origin, causes of death, and demographic information of those who are known to have died. The report concludes with a discussion of the many data gaps and challenges of documenting deaths and disappearances during migration and calls for long-overdue action to ensure evidence-based policies and programmes are put in place to end migrant deaths.