Skip to main content
News - 
Global

Number of Migrants Who Embarked on the Dangerous Darien Gap Route Nearly Doubled in 2022

Geneva – The number of migrants irregularly crossing into Panama after embarking on the perilous Darien Gap route reached a record in 2022, nearly doubling the figures of the previous year. According to the Panamanian government, nearly 250,000 people crossed into the country compared to some 133,000 in 2021. 

“The stories we have heard from those who have crossed the Darien Gap attest to the horrors of this journey,” said Giuseppe Loprete, Chief of Mission at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Panama. “Many have lost their lives or gone missing, while others come out of it with significant health issues, both physical and mental, to which we and our partners are responding.” 

The number of Venezuelans following this route increased over 50 times last year, compared to 2021, reaching 150,327. Nationals of Venezuela were followed by Ecuadorians (29,356), Haitians (22,435) and Cubans (5,961). Of the total, about 28 per cent were female and 72 per cent were male, while 16 per cent were children and adolescents. 

According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project data, 36 people died in the Darien Gap in 2022. However, anecdotal reports indicate that many migrants die in the Darien Gap and their remains are neither recovered nor reported, so this figure presents only a small fraction of the true number of lives lost. 

IOM and its partners are stepping up the response in Panama, providing temporary shelter at government-run reception centres, mattresses, blankets, solar lamps, medicines, food items, and hygiene kits. IOM also continues to coordinate closely with government institutions throughout the region, strengthening migration and border management capacities, and to promote access to regularization programmes. 

The mixed migration flows transiting through the region are complex and dynamic, Loprete said. Last year’s record numbers coincided with the deterioration of economic and social conditions in origin countries and throughout Latin America. The response to this situation will continue to require a coordinated regional response and international cooperation to address urgent humanitarian and protection needs and related policy challenges. 

In this context, IOM advocates for the establishment of safe, orderly, and regular migration routes, channels and mechanisms to protect the rights of migrants in transit and prevent situations of vulnerability associated with irregular migration and smuggling of migrants, among other risks. IOM also calls for the investigation and prosecution of people smugglers and increased support and investments in host communities to strengthen services that benefit both migrants and refugees as well as the local population. 

***

For more information, please contact: 

In Geneva:
Diego Pérez Damasco, Communications Officer, diperez@iom.int, +41 79 582 7235

In Panama:
Mayteé Zachrisson, Media and Communications Assistant, mzachrisson@iom.int, +507 6312-5700

Share this page via:

Related SDGs

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well Being
SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Regions
Office type
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas (The)
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (the)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros (the)
Congo (the)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic (the)
East and Horn of Africa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Europe and Central Asia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia (the)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Global Office in Brussels
Global Office in Washington
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
IOM Office at the United Nations
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Manila Administrative Centre
Marshall Islands (the)
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Middle East and North Africa
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Niger (the)
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Panama Administrative Centre
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines (the)
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova (the)
Romania
Russian Federation (the)
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Subregional Office in Brussels
Subregional Office in Pretoria
Sudan (the)
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic (the)
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
West and Central Africa
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe