A record number of migrants reached the Canary Islands by sea in 2024, Spain says : NPR

A boat with 57 migrants onboard arrives at La Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro, on September 14, 2024.

Antonio Sempere/AFP via Getty Images

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SEVILLE, Spain — The Atlantic migration route that connects West African nations with the Spanish Canary Islands set a new record in 2024, with at least 46,843 arrivals to the Spanish archipelago, according to yearly figures released by Spain’s Interior Ministry. The number surpassed last year’s previous record, and represents a 17% increase.

The number, released Thursday in a report from Spain’s Interior Ministry, comes despite continued efforts by the Spanish government and the European Union to address the migration crisis. Spain and the EU have sought to provide aid to countries of origin to help spur development and control the departure of migrants.

Migrants often travel more than 1,000 miles by sea to reach the Canary Islands. Senegal and Mauritania are two of the most common launching points for migrants, who come from a number of countries in the African continent to escape armed conflict, poverty, or lack of opportunity. In 2024, a small number of migrants from Southeast Asian countries also reached the Spanish archipelago, raising concerns that the deadly route, far from deterring them, could be attracting migrants from other continents.

A member of the emergency services carries a little child, part of a group of 175 migrant people who arrived on board a boat, at Restinga port on the Canary island of El Hierro on August 18, 2024.

Antonio Sempere/AFP via Getty Images

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Antonio Sempere/AFP via Getty Images

The Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world. The Spanish aid organization 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.

Last year’s increase in the number of migrants reaching the Canary Islands was highlighted by the arrival of nearly 2,000 migrants in the last days of 2024. The news of 69 migrants dying after a boat sank on Dec. 19, according to Malian authorities, was a reminder of the danger this migration route represents.

The number of migrant arrivals in the Canary Islands has overwhelmed the local government, and has sparked a national debate about the handling of the more than 5,500 minors who are currently held in government facilities. Negotiations over the relocation of these minors to the Spanish mainland have been ongoing, but national parties are in a gridlock over the passage of new legislation that will determine how minors are distributed across the 16 other autonomous regions of Spain.