Rohingya refugees wait to be rescued from the hull of their capsized boat as a National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) vessel approaches in waters some 16 nautical miles (29 kilometers) off west Aceh on March 21, 2024.(AFP)
Around 7,900 people died or disappeared on migration routes in 2025, taking the total dead and missing since 2014 beyond 80,000, the United Nations' migration agency said on April 21.
The U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said people were being forced into dangerous, irregular journeys when safe pathways were out of reach, and urged countries to find the political will to save more lives on migration routes.
"The deaths or disappearance of nearly 7,900 people were documented on global migration routes worldwide in 2025," the IOM said.
The IOM's Missing Migrants Project "has documented more than 80,000 deaths and disappearances during migration since 2014," the agency said.
"While these figures represent only the lowest boundary of the true number of affected people, they nonetheless underscore the need for urgent action to end migrant deaths and address the complex needs of families left behind," said the IOM.
The IOM said the 7,904 deaths and disappearances documented in 2025 "mark a continuation and escalation of a global failure to end these preventable deaths."
"2025 was marked by an unprecedented level of aid cuts and restriction of information on dangerous irregular routes, rendering more and more missing migrants invisible," it said.
Meanwhile, "an even more hidden population" of at least around 340,000 family members were estimated to be directly affected by the "ongoing crisis of missing migrants."
They are having to deal with the psychological, social, legal and economic impacts of having a relative whose disappearance remains unresolved, the agency said.
The IOM said the May 2026 International Migration Review Forum was a chance to change the dynamics.
"Sustained political will is needed to save lives on migration routes worldwide and make visible the families most impacted by these preventable losses," the agency.
Meanwhile, Migrants in Spain on April 20 began applying in person to legalize their status after the Southern European nation launched an amnesty measure that could affect hundreds of thousands of foreigners living and working in the country without authorization.
The program offers immigrants without legal status a one-year, renewable residence permit if they have spent five months living in the country and have a clean criminal record. They have until the end of June to apply.
There have been questions about the short window to process what Spain's government has said could include 500,000 migrants, and which Spanish think tank Funcas estimates is around 840,000 people.
Over 370 post offices opened their doors to applicants and the government has said they also can apply at 60 social security offices and a handful of migration offices.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a progressive, has called the measure “an act of justice and a necessity,” arguing that those already living and working in Spain should “do so under equal conditions” and pay taxes.
