More than 4,400 children have died or gone missing on migration routes since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agency says the true figure is likely much higher than its recorded count.

The number covers child migrants whose deaths were documented between 2014 and the present. IOM tracks these cases through its Missing Migrants Project, the global database that records people who die or disappear on migration journeys. Its new statement warns that the documented figure understates reality.

What does the number cover?

The 4,400-plus total counts children who died during migration over roughly the past decade. The figure includes deaths on land and sea routes, from drowning, dehydration, vehicle accidents and other causes recorded by the project since 2014.

IOM draws on a wide range of sources: official records, media reports, survivor accounts and data from rescue organizations. That method captures many cases, but the agency stresses it cannot capture them all.

The takeaway: 4,400 is the floor, not the ceiling, of what is known about child migrant deaths since 2014.

Why is the true toll likely higher?

IOM points to structural gaps in how deaths on migration routes come to light. Many routes cross remote deserts, mountains and seas where few witnesses or authorities operate. Bodies go unrecovered, and disappearances often go unreported to any official body.

Children face particular risks of going uncounted. Families in transit countries may avoid contact with authorities. Shipwrecks can leave no survivors to report who was aboard. Deaths in detention or smuggling networks rarely enter public records.

In short: the data system records confirmed cases, and many deaths on clandestine routes are never confirmed.

Who is affected?

The count spans child migrants worldwide, on the major routes the Missing Migrants Project monitors. These include Mediterranean sea crossings, land corridors through deserts, and border regions where families and unaccompanied children travel.

Each entry in the database represents a child who died or disappeared while moving between countries. IOM's statement frames the total as a signal of how dangerous those journeys remain for the youngest people on them.

The plain meaning: thousands of children have died on the move in a decade, and the number we can see is smaller than the number that exists.

Where does the figure come from?

The statistic comes directly from the International Organization for Migration, the UN migration agency. Its Missing Migrants Project has compiled data on deaths and disappearances along migration routes since 2014, and it is the only global database of its kind.

IOM published the figure together with its assessment that undercounting is severe. Readers seeking the underlying case-level data can consult the Missing Migrants Project records, which the agency maintains publicly.

The bottom line: the official record stands at more than 4,400 child deaths since 2014, and IOM itself says that record is incomplete.