The United Nations migration agency reported on Thursday that significantly fewer migrants are reaching European shores this year, even as the journey becomes increasingly lethal. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees arrived by sea as of September 15, 2026. This figure represents a decline of nearly 40% compared to the same timeframe in 2025.
Despite the overall reduction in arrivals, the number of people who have died or gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean has risen. The agency recorded nearly 2,300 deaths or disappearances in 2026, an increase from the nearly 2,000 deaths documented during the same period the previous year. IOM Director General Amy Pope emphasized the preventable nature of these tragedies, calling for enhanced international cooperation to protect human lives, combat trafficking, and establish alternative legal migration pathways. She noted that behind every statistic is a human being, a family, and a community.
The Central Mediterranean route to Italy experienced the most significant drop in traffic, with arrivals falling from over 48,000 last year to more than 21,000 this year. However, fatalities on that route rose to 996, up from 844 during the same period in 2025. Similarly, while arrivals to Greece decreased by roughly 5,000, the number of deaths surged by 47%. Migration routes toward Spain also saw high death tolls despite a general decrease in arrivals. The IOM reported that at least 97 people died during the Ceuta border crisis on July 30 and 31 alone.
The agency warned that the confirmed figures likely represent only a fraction of the true death toll, as many shipwrecks and disappearances go unrecorded. Investigations have found that authorities are increasingly less transparent regarding incidents occurring at sea, further complicating efforts to track the full extent of the crisis.
