Today, the IOM released preliminary figures for all migrant or refugee deaths worldwide in 2016, reporting an estimate of 7,495 men, women and children dead or missing across five continents. That total compares to 5,267 in 2014 and 5,740 last year. The three-year total: 18,501.

Much of the increase is due to the more advanced research methods used by IOM’s Missing Migrants Project although many IOM officials believe migrant routes also grew more deadly in 2016, particularly along the Central Mediterranean route between North Africa and Europe, where nearly 4,600 migrants perished last year.

According to IOM analysts, the Missing Migrants Project data point to two enduring trends. The first: that mature migration routes such as the Mesoamerican corridor linking Latin America to North America and the Central Mediterranean route linking the Sahara region to Southern Europe continue to operate at full capacity despite the efforts by destination countries to tamp down the number of arrivals. The second: that while some routes are becoming more deadly, the increase in data largely reflects the growing use of migrants relying on social media and personal, handheld devices to chronicle their journeys.

For more information:

• IOM press release from 6 January 2017
• Missing Migrants Project latest global figures
• Missing Migrants Project homepage