Balearic Islands: the busiest migration route and the one with the most shipwrecks to reach Spain

BarcelonaThe sea remains a death trap. Thousands have perished trying to flee their countries along 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 in the Mediterranean, and specifically on the Algerian route to the Balearic Islands.

After a disastrous 2024, in which [number of 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 up to 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, which remains 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, on which women and minors travel.

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.

According to Helena Maleno, coordinator of this investigation, the decrease in the number of deaths is not a consequence of greater protection of the right to life, but a statistical decrease because the boats that sink on the Algerian route are smaller than the canoes that travel to 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.

Italy and Malta, the most dangerous

According to the project Missing Migrants According to the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 1,745 people died or disappeared in the Mediterranean in 2025, a 32% decrease compared to the previous year. However, its routes, especially the central route, remain the deadliest in the world, with 33,220 deaths. According to UN statistics, 2025 was the second year with the fewest deaths in the Mediterranean since records began, second only to 2020, when the pandemic reduced crossings. 2016 remains the worst year in terms of mortality in the region, with 5,136 deaths and disappearances. And although the age and sex of all victims are unknown, the IOM recorded the death or disappearance of at least 95 children in Mediterranean trafficking this year, a figure also lower than last year's (125). According to these statistics, the central Mediterranean route, usually originating in Libya or Tunisia and destined for Italy or Malta, remains the most dangerous for migrants, with 1,190 deaths and disappearances. Since 2014, at least 25,775 migrants have died or disappeared on these journeys. The United Nations also indicates that most migrant deaths in the Mediterranean in 2025 will be due to drowning (1,536), although other causes, such as violence or poor hygiene and nutrition, are also recorded.