Undocumented migrants paid approximately $509 million to human smugglers along sea routes to Europe in 2025.
Sea-news.az reports this was revealed in a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
It is noted that the busiest smuggling corridor was the Central Mediterranean route, where up to 100,400 migrants attempted to cross into European nations.
According to UN surveys, nearly half of the migrants attempting to be smuggled from North Africa or Türkiye to Italy or Malta paid more than $7,500 each. Other routes proved less expensive than the heavily used Central Mediterranean corridor. Smugglers charged as little as $170 per person for passage across the Northwest African Atlantic route. This perilous sea passage involves journeys in open boats from the coasts of Northwest Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands.
The report indicated that approximately 190,000 to 209,000 individuals were smuggled along four primary maritime routes to Europe in 2025. The most heavily trafficked irregular migration corridor was the Central Mediterranean route (84,000 – 100,400 people). This was followed by the Eastern Mediterranean route, stretching from Türkiye, Libya, and the Middle East toward Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria (48,400 – 51,300 people). The Northwest African Atlantic route ranked third with 33,000 individuals. Completing the list was the Western Mediterranean route connecting North and West Africa to Spain (24,500 people).
According to UN data, many individuals who paid fees to be smuggled into Europe failed to reach their destinations. Among those departing via sea routes in 2025, 3,404 people lost their lives or were reported missing. A further 104,200 individuals were intercepted at sea and returned.
UNODC states that criminals commit these acts driven by financial profit. However, the agency emphasizes that not every person attempting irregular entry via maritime routes is necessarily a perpetrator or participant in organized migrant smuggling networks.
According to UN estimates, 72 to 86 percent of those departing via the Central Mediterranean route and 73 to 83 percent of those on the Northwest African Atlantic route utilized irregular migration networks in 2025. On the Western Mediterranean route, this figure ranged between 57 and 90 percent, while on the Eastern Mediterranean route it oscillated between 75 and 90 percent.
