Migrants paid between $388 million and $509 million to smugglers on sea routes to Europe in 2025, according to estimates from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The findings, reported with the UN migration agency, IOM, put the number of people smuggled along four main routes at around 190,000 to 209,000. Smugglers charge people to help them cross borders without permission.
The Central Mediterranean was the busiest route, with 84,000 to 100,400 people attempting a crossing. In an IOM survey, almost half of migrants trying to reach Italy or Malta from North Africa or Turkey said they paid more than $7,500 each. Prices on other routes could be much lower. On the Northwest African Atlantic route, smugglers received as little as $170 per person. This dangerous journey takes people in open boats from Northwest Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands.
However, payment did not guarantee that travelers would reach their destination. Among all people departing on the sea routes in 2025, 3,404 died or were reported missing. Another 104,200 were stopped at sea and returned. The UN also emphasized that not everyone attempting to enter without permission used smugglers.
