More than 3,000 migrants lost their lives this year attempting to reach Spain, according to a report published on Monday by a Spanish migrant rights organisation. The figure marks a sharp drop from 2024, reflecting a decline in the overall number of attempted crossings.
The group, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), said that the majority of the 3,090 deaths recorded up to 15 December occurred along the Atlantic route linking Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands — widely regarded as one of the deadliest migration paths in the world.
Although arrivals to the Canaries have fallen ‘significantly’, the organisation warned that ‘a new, more distant and more dangerous’ route to the islands has emerged, with boats now departing from Guinea.
Caminando Fronteras said its data is compiled using testimony from migrants’ families alongside official rescue statistics. Among those who died were 437 children and 192 women.
The report also highlighted an increase in departures from Algeria, primarily heading toward the Mediterranean islands of Ibiza and Formentera. ALSO READ: Authorities in Balearic Islands demand action amid surge in irregular migrant arrivals.
While this route has traditionally been used by Algerian migrants, the group noted a growing number of people now making the journey from Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan in 2025.
Deaths along this Mediterranean route have doubled compared with last year, reaching 1,037, the organisation said.
In 2024, at least 10,457 migrants died or went missing while attempting to reach Spain by sea — the highest figure recorded since Caminando Fronteras began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry reported that 35,935 migrants arrived in the country by 15 December this year, representing a 40% drop compared with the same period in 2024. ALSO READ: Irregular migration to Spain dropped by over 40% in 2025.
Almost half of those arrivals came via the Atlantic route from the West African coast to the Canary Islands.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
🚨 En 2025 han muerto 3.090 personas en las fronteras españolas por la falta de protección de la vida, en rutas cada vez más largas y peligrosas.#derechoalavida2025 #tragediasilenciada #muertepormigrar pic.twitter.com/4GILRcIeNE
— Caminando Fronteras (@walkingborders) December 29, 2025
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.