IOM records 59 per cent fall in sea arrivals from West Africa as Atlantic route deaths barely change

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency, said that sea arrivals in Europe from West Africa fell by 59 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The IOM counted 4,566 people from Mali, Senegal, Guinea and The Gambia.

The agency said the fall does not mean the journey has become safer. On the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, the IOM said arrivals fell 62 per cent between 2024 and 2025, after a peak in 2024. Recorded deaths and disappearances barely changed over the same span. The IOM counted 1,172 in 2025, against 1,215 the year before. The agency said this gap shows the route has become much more dangerous for migrants.

The IOM linked the change to tighter border controls in Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal. It said these controls are pushing departures further south, from Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The agency said this can add 750 kilometres to crossings of around 2,200 kilometres. Migrants spend more time at sea and pass along remoter, less watched coasts. The IOM said they face a higher risk of shipwreck, dehydration and disappearance.

The IOM also said West Africans make up a growing share of arrivals on the Mediterranean routes. On the Western Mediterranean route their share reached 21.9 per cent, up from 15.6 per cent a year earlier.

The agency said a drop in arrivals does not necessarily mean fewer departures. It said data on interceptions and deaths at sea show that attempts to cross continue, even though fewer people reach their destination. The IOM said a change on one route can spill over to others. It said arrival figures alone therefore give a poor picture of how migration is changing, and that whole journeys, from countries of origin through transit countries to destination countries, need to be followed.

IOM Director General Amy Pope said in a statement that a fall in arrivals in one place does not mean pressure has gone. She said it often shifts to other routes. “No single country can solve this alone,” Pope said. “We need to protect migrants wherever they are.”

The IOM called for closer cooperation between the countries concerned. It also called for safe, orderly and regular migration pathways.

The sources do not say how the IOM gathered its counts of deaths and disappearances. They give no figure for deaths in 2026. The 59 per cent fall covers only the first half of 2026, while the Atlantic route comparison covers 2024 and 2025, so the two measures are not for the same period. The sources also do not say what share of the 4,566 people reached Europe by which route in the Mediterranean, and they do not report any response from Morocco, Mauritania or Senegal.