Holiday region: More migrants have arrived in the Canary Islands than ever before

Arrivals of irregular migrants in the Canary Islands again reached a record high last year. Almost 48,000 migrants arrived in the Spanish Atlantic archipelago, as the Interior Ministry in Madrid announced. The record, which was only recorded there in 2023, was exceeded by 17.4 percent in 2024. This means that migrants in the Canary Islands made up around three quarters of these arrivals in Spain. In total, almost 64,000 irregular migrants arrived in 2024 – an increase of 12.5 percent compared to the previous year.

The sea route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is considered one of the most dangerous escape routes in the world. According to the respected Spanish aid organization “Caminando Fronteras,” which is well-connected in Africa, at least 9,757 migrants died trying to reach the Canary Islands in 2024.

The aid agency’s figure for 2024 is fourteen times higher than that of the UN Organization for Migration (IOM), which documented at least 696 deaths. “Caminando Fronteras” explains that its activists have direct contact with survivors of boat accidents and with the families of migrants in Africa.

Data from primary sources are always compared with information from official bodies and migrant communities as well as social organizations, it is said. And the IOM also admits on its homepage: “The hundreds of documented deaths on the way to the Canary Islands are probably a significant underestimate of the actual number.”

The fact that the Canary Islands are the main destination for irregular migration in Spain, while at the same time the numbers on the western Mediterranean route are decreasing significantly, is a relatively new phenomenon that began around five years ago. Before that, the number of arrivals there was usually well under 1,000 per year.

Criticism of Madrid and Brussels

Discontent has been growing in the holiday archipelago for a long time. The regional head of government Fernando Clavijo recently spoke again of an “untenable situation”. He criticized the lack of support from the central government and also from the EU, especially in the care of almost 6,000 minors who are currently on the islands after the long crossing and are mostly very traumatized and psychologically vulnerable.