Balearic Islands: the busiest migration route and the one with the most shipwrecks to reach Spain
There have been 3,000 deaths in boats heading to Spain, a third of which occurred on the journey between Algeria and Ibiza or Formentera.
BarcelonaThe sea remains a death trap. Thousands have perished in the Mediterranean as they attempted to flee their countries via the only possible route in search of a better future. The tragic toll for 2025 among those who ventured to reach the Spanish coast reached 3,090, according to the Caminando Fronteras collective, which highlights a significant increase in tragedies on the Algerian route to the Balearic Islands.
After a disastrous 2024, in which 3,090 deaths were recorded more than 10,000 fatalities In the sea bordering the Balearic Islands, the figures show that the humanitarian crisis continues. In total, the NGO has identified 303 tragedies, of which 121 (40%) occurred between Algeria and the Balearic Islands, particularly towards Ibiza and Formentera. the route with the most boat traffic This year has seen 1,037 deaths. Of the more than 3,000 lives lost in the Mediterranean on December 15, 192 were women and 437 were minors.
The report Monitoring the right to life 2025 The Caminando Fronteras report shows a decrease in arrivals via the Canary Islands route, the deadliest. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of the Interior, irregular migrant arrivals to Spain fell by 40.4% compared to 2014, with an even steeper drop in the Canary Islands, where it reached 59.9%.
However, the large volume of migrant boats and canoes The number of people crossing to the Canary Islands makes this route the largest in terms of the number of people and, therefore, the deadliest, with 1,906 fatalities this year. In this case, despite the notable decrease in the number of arrivals and deaths, Caminando Fronteras has warned of the opening of a new route from Guinea Conakry, even more distant and dangerous, used by women and minors.
In the Strait of Gibraltar, there has also been an increase in attempts to reach the islands by swimming and in tragedies, with 139 victims, 24% of whom are children and adolescents.
"Insufficient activation of rescues"
According to Helena Maleno, coordinator of this research, the decrease in the number of deaths is not a consequence of greater protection of the right to life, but rather a statistical decrease because the boats that sink on the Algerian route are smaller than the canoes that travel towards the Canary Islands. According to Caminando Fronteras, some of these tragedies occur due to "the insufficient activation of rescue services and the outsourcing of border control and management to third countries, dynamics that increase the vulnerability and lack of protection of people during migration journeys."