At least 46,843 migrants made it to the Canary Islands in 2024 through a deadly migration route across the Atlantic, the country’s interior ministry has confirmed.
Spain saw the arrival of 63,970 irregular migrants in 2024, a 12.5% increase from the previous year’s 56,852 arrivals, according to Interior Ministry data published Thursday.
The Atlantic route from North Africa to the Canary Islands remains the most frequently used, with 46,843 migrants reaching the archipelago in 2024, a 17.4 percent increase from the 39,910 arrivals in 2023, which was the previous record.
The record numbers have left migrant charities calling for urgent help from the Spanish authorities to deal help with the “humanitarian response for underage migrants”.
The figure includes 5,400 unaccompanied minors which place an additional burden on authorities as they attempt to deal with and process the vast number of arrivals.
Spain and the EU have attempted to address the issue, with both providing funding to source countries in an attempt to aid development and prevent departure.
Migrants often travel as much as 1,000 miles to reach the islands, with Senegal and Mauritania popular starting points.
Conflict across the Sahel, which has included several military coups in recent years, the increasing impact of climate change as well as poverty all contribute to people seeking a new life in Europe.
The Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world. The Spanish aid organisation Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) assessed on a recent report that over 10,000 migrants died last year trying to reach the Canary Islands by sea.
The annual Right to Life Monitoring report by Caminando Fronteras found a 62.4% increase in fatalities on the route compared to last year.
It found that nearly 90% of the deaths occurred between Africa and the Canary Islands with the remainder from Algeria to Balearic Islands, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea.
Migrants leaving from the Mauritanian coast accounted for the highest number of deaths, with 6,829 fatalities. Another 2,197 people died leaving from Senegal and Gambia, and 801 from between Agadir, Morocco, and Dakhla in Western Sahara.
Among the victims were 1,538 children and 421 women, many fleeing violence, forced marriage, or genital mutilation.
April and May proved to be the deadliest months, with almost 23% of fatalities recorded during this period.