OMM Newsroom
At least 4,414 children died during migration journeys worldwide between 2014 and 2025, but the actual number is likely much higher, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a new report.
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project recorded nearly 81,000 migrant deaths and disappearances during that period. The age was unknown in 44,862 cases, or 55.5%, leaving an unknown number of child deaths unidentified in official statistics.
On the Central Mediterranean route, children made up 19% of arrivals in Italy and Malta in 2024, but accounted for just 2% of recorded deaths, the agency said, pointing to significant gaps in the data.
“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.”
Records from medical examiners and law enforcement accounted for only 18% of documented migrant deaths, the report found.
IOM urged governments to improve the documentation of migrant deaths, systematically record victims’ ages and strengthen information sharing among authorities and humanitarian organizations while protecting personal data.
