Spain: West and Central Africa — Irregular Migration Routes to Europe — Western African Atlantic Route (2025)

Countries: Spain, Canary Islands (Spain), Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal Source: International Organization for Migration Please refer to the attached Infographic. This document presents the panorama of irregular migration from the coasts of West and Northern Africa to the Canary Islands, Spain. This route, which used to be active until 2006, has seen an increasing number of movements since 2020. Since then, the risks, deaths, and disappearances of migrants following shipwrecks and boats going adrift have also been on the rise along the Atlantic coast. In 2025, 17, 788 migrants reached the Canary Islands irregularly after crossing by boat from the coasts of West and Northern Africa, a decrease of 62 per cent compared to 2024 (46, 843 migrants). Migrants face many dangers along the West African Atlantic Route, which puts their wellbeing at risk and too often results in their deaths and disappearances. In 2025, 54 shipwrecks were recorded along this route, resulting in the death or disappearance of 1, 214 migrants.

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