According to IOM Director Amy Pope, routes are changing due to conflicts, climate change, and political shifts.
"Behind these numbers are people on dangerous routes who have left families waiting for news that may never come," she says in a statement.
The figures apply to routes all over the world. Among other things, 3,400 deaths or missing persons have been documented in Europe, mainly in the Mediterranean.
The IOM also said nearly 900 people were documented as missing in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, a route used primarily by Rohingya refugees, making it the deadliest year on record for this route.
