The United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) announced on Thursday that migrant arrivals to Europe by sea have significantly decreased this year, but at the same time, the number of people losing their lives on dangerous routes to reach the continent has increased.
Decrease in Migrant Arrivals
As of September 15, 2026, nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees reached the shores of Europe, a figure that represents a nearly 40 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. However, during this time, nearly 2,300 people lost their lives or went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean, an increase from approximately 2,000 people last year.
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Increase in Deaths on Migration Routes
The central Mediterranean route to Italy has experienced the most significant decrease, with arrivals dropping from over 48,000 last year to over 21,000 this year. However, since the beginning of this year, 996 people have lost their lives, an increase from 844 people during the same period last year.
Arrivals in Greece have also decreased by nearly 5,000 people, while deaths on these routes have increased by 47 percent. Additionally, deaths on migration routes to Spain remain high despite an overall decrease in arrivals. In the Ceuta border crisis on July 30 and 31, at least 97 people died on the Spanish side of the border with Morocco.
The United Nations Migration Agency also warned that the actual number of victims may be much higher, as many drownings and disappearances go unconfirmed and unrecorded. One reason for this is that officials have increasingly less transparency about what happens at sea.
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Source: abcnews.com
