Number of Migrant Deaths 2016 Highest Ever Recorded

2016 has turned out to be one of the deadliest years for migrants on the move between different regions of the world in recent history. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 7,189 migrants and refugees lost their lives or remain missing on world migratory routes in total.

One area of the world has proven most deadly: the Mediterranean. There alone, 4,812 people were killed this year. On average, 20 migrants died per day in 2016, which leads the IOM to believe that "the deaths of another 200-300 men, women and children well may be recorded worldwide before 2016 comes to an end."