In 2020, 335 migrants died by crossing the Western Mediterranean route. The Mediterranean Sea recorded worldwide the largest number of deaths and missing cases of people who migrated.
Between January and September 2021, 238 people were reported to have died in the Western Mediterranean Sea.
2018 was the year in which the number of deaths on the Western Mediterranean Route peaked. 811 migrants died in the attempt to reach Europe through this route. The Western Mediterranean route includes migration flows from Morocco to Spain, the route from Morocco and from the Western coast of Algeria across the Alborán Sea as well as the route to two Spanish territories in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.
Number of recorded deaths of migrants on the Western Mediterranean Route from 2014 to 2021
September 16, 2021
The Missing Migrants Project counts migrants who have died in the attempt to migrate to a country different from their country of residence. The count does not include the deaths of people occurred in immigration detention centers as well as deaths occurred after the deportation to the homeland. In addition, the project does not count the deaths of migrants occurred as a result of labor exploitation.
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International Organization for Migration. (September 17, 2021). Number of recorded deaths of migrants on the Western Mediterranean Route from 2014 to 2021 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved June 28, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1082228/deaths-of-migrants-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea/
International Organization for Migration. "Number of recorded deaths of migrants on the Western Mediterranean Route from 2014 to 2021." Chart. September 17, 2021. Statista. Accessed June 28, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1082228/deaths-of-migrants-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea/
International Organization for Migration. (2021). Number of recorded deaths of migrants on the Western Mediterranean Route from 2014 to 2021. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: June 28, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1082228/deaths-of-migrants-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea/
International Organization for Migration. "Number of Recorded Deaths of Migrants on The Western Mediterranean Route from 2014 to 2021." Statista, Statista Inc., 17 Sep 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1082228/deaths-of-migrants-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea/
International Organization for Migration, Number of recorded deaths of migrants on the Western Mediterranean Route from 2014 to 2021 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1082228/deaths-of-migrants-in-the-western-mediterranean-sea/ (last visited June 28, 2022)