West and Central Africa — Irregular Migration Routes to Europe — Western African Atlantic Route (January - June 2024)

Irregular migration is a complex, dynamic and fragmented phenomenon, and remains difficult to fully picture. Strengthening the understanding of migration routes, trends as well as migrant profiles is critical to protect migrants and support evidence-based policies. The International Organization for Migration's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) and Missing Migrants Project (MMP) collect data on the departures, arrivals, deaths and disappearances of migrants along migratory routes.

This document presents the resumption of migration from the coasts of West Africa to the
Canary Islands (Spain). This route, already active in 2006, saw an increasing number of
movements in 2023, and in the first half of 2024, there were considerable increases
compared to the previous year. The risks, deaths, and disappearances following shipwrecks
are also on the rise along the Atlantic coasts.