UN: 12,338 migrants were stopped at sea leaving Libya in 2025
160729-N-EU999-004 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (July 29, 2016) Migrants aboard an inflatable vessel approach the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64). Carney provided food and water to the migrants aboard the vessel before coordinating with a nearby merchant vessel to take them to safety. Carney is forward deployed to Rota, Spain, and is conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. navy photo by Chief Information Systems Technician Wesley R. Dickey/Released)
The UN’s International Organization for Migration, or IOM, reported that by July 12th, 2025, a total of 12,338 migrants were stopped en route and returned to Libya by maritime authorities, according to the Libya Herald on July 17th.
Of the migrants with relevant data, 10,653 were men, 1136 were women, and 404 were children. There were 317 deaths and 286 reported missing.
Most of the total migrants are not from Libya but from other countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to data from Frontex, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency.
These migrants are often headed to Europe’s shores following the Central Mediterranean route, with Italy’s southern coast increasingly being a common destination. Italy is the closest European country to Libya, with the shortest crossing point being 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Libya. 408 migrants departed from Libya’s western coast, out of a total of 415 migrants recorded from July 6th to 12th.
Many new arrivals to Libya are from Sudan, with Libya being a critical stop in the other Eastern Mediterranean migration route. The number of Sudanese nationals attempting to reach Europe has surged, with a 134% increase compared to 2024.
Across the entirety of 2024, 21,762 migrants were stopped and returned to Libya, with 665 recorded deaths and 1034 missing. In 2023, it was 17,190 with 962 deaths and 1536 missing based on the IOM data.
Europe has been made aware of this increase in dangerous journeys from Libya in July. Officials from Italy, Greece, Malta, and the EU met with representatives of the UN-recognised government in Tripoli on July 9th to help curb illegal migration and human trafficking networks. However, EU officials were reportedly refused entry into Benghazi for talks by the eastern Libyan regime following their previous visit with its rival government.
Libya Herald, Maghrebi.org
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