Migrants are rescued after their boat capsizes in Lybia's sea on June 10, 2015. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The UN migration agency says its global figures underestimate the true extent of the problem, as many migrant deaths are never reported and many bodies are never recovered. Nevertheless, researchers say the statistics paint a very grim picture of the perils awaiting the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants risking their lives in search of protection or a better life.

A related report recently released by IOM and UNICEF focuses on the growing number of children embarking on dangerous migrant journeys. 1,600 children, about one every day, were reported dead or missing between 2014 and 2018. Researchers say the full extent of this tragedy is unknown, as many of these migrant child deaths go unrecorded.