4,414 Child Migrant Deaths Since 2014, Toll Likely Higher
In a newly released report, the UN body said its Missing Migrants Project logged close to 81,000 migrant deaths and disappearances over the 12-year span. In 44,862 of those cases, or 55.5%, no age was recorded, meaning an unknown number of children may never have been identified in official counts.
The Central Mediterranean route shows the gap starkly. Children made up 19% of arrivals in Italy and Malta in 2024 but just 2% of recorded deaths there, according to the agency.
“Every child who dies on a migration journey deserves to be counted, yet too many are missing from the data,” said Stuart Campo, IOM’s chief strategy officer for data, insight and policy. “We cannot protect children from dangers we cannot see.”
The report also found that only 18% of documented migrant deaths were backed by records from medical examiners and law enforcement.
IOM called on governments to document migrant deaths more thoroughly, record victims’ ages as a matter of routine and expand information sharing between authorities and humanitarian groups, all while safeguarding personal data.
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