According to the Spanish non-governmental organisation Caminando Fronteras, at least 3,090 people died or went missing in 2025 while trying to reach the Spanish coast by sea. Among the victims were 192 women and 437 children. This is significantly less than in the record year of 2024, when, according to estimates by the same organisation, more than 10,457 migrants died.
The decline in deaths is linked to a sharp drop in the number of attempts to cross the border: according to official data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, by 15 December 2025, approximately 35,935 migrants had arrived in the country illegally, which is 40% less than during the same period in 2024.
The Atlantic route to the Canary Islands remains the deadliest, with 1,906 victims recorded. Despite an overall decline in arrivals to the Canary Islands (by almost 60%), this route is still considered one of the most dangerous in the world due to the length of the voyage (up to 12 days) and overcrowded vessels.
At the same time, the number of tragedies on the route from Algeria to the Balearic Islands has increased, with 1,037 deaths, twice as many as in 2024. The organisation notes the emergence of new, even more dangerous routes, including from Guinea, where women and children are more likely to travel. There have been 139 deaths in the Strait of Gibraltar, including attempts to swim across it.
Caminando Fronteras activists emphasise that the decline in mortality is not the result of improved protection of migrants’ rights, but rather a consequence of tighter border controls in countries of departure, such as Mauritania. This forces people to choose more dangerous routes.