Spanish migration rights group Caminando Fronteras says 10,457 migrants died at sea while trying to reach Spain in 2024, a 58% increase in deaths compared to last year.
More than 10,000 migrants have died while attempting to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to a report released on Thursday by Spanish migration rights group Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders).
9,757 deaths, the vast majority of the 10,457 reported by Caminando Fronters up until 15 December 2024, took place along the so-called Atlantic route, which is considered the world’s most dangerous. The group reported 700 deaths amongst people attempting to reach Spain via Mediterranean routes.
The Atlantic route saw tens of thousands of people leave the shores of nations in western Africa, such as Mauritania, for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located near the African coast that has increasingly been used as a gateway to mainland Europe.
The total number of deaths represents a 58% increase compared to the previous year, the report added.
Caminando Fronteras compiles its data based on accounts from migrant families and official statistics of those rescued. The report specified that 1,538 children and 421 women were among the deceased, with April and May identified as the year’s deadliest months.
The group also highlighted a “sharp increase” in boats departing from Mauritania in 2024, with the country emerging as the main departure point for migrants heading to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged €210 million in aid to Mauritania to help curb human trafficking and prevent boats from setting off.
Spain’s interior ministry reports that over 57,700 migrants arrived in the country by sea by 15 December this year, marking a 12% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The vast majority of them travelled via the Atlantic route.
Severe challenges in data collection on migrant deaths
Caminando Fronteras’ figures are significantly higher than those reported by other organisations, such as Missing Migrants Project (MMP). The latter is an organisation which records incidents in which people have died at state borders or in the process of migrating to another country, and its current figures show 979 missing migrants along the same Atlantic route in 2024. However, the data collection methods of each organisation can differ substantially and figures are subject to change over time, with all such groups facing substantial challenges in their efforts.
Caminando Fronteras laments that “families continue to encounter obstacles [from public authorities] to their right to report incidents.”
Missing Migrants Project acknowledges that its surveys “can only ever capture a small sample of the overall number of migrants transiting in Africa,” and notes the existence of serious challenges that hamper efforts to paint a more accurate picture, such as the high number of languages in the region and its low rates of digitalised media.
MMP recorded 2,273 missing migrants across the entire Mediterranean Sea in 2024, with 410 in the eastern Mediterranean, 1,689 in the central Mediterranean and 172 in the eastern Mediterranean.
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