The number beats the previous record, set in 2023, as a recent report also points at a peak in the number of deaths recorded in the dangerous Atlantic migration route.

The latest arrivals in 2025 add to growing concerns about the uptick in irregular migration to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.

A record 46,843 migrants reached Spain's Canary Islands illegally in 2024 via the increasingly deadly Atlantic route, the second consecutive year of unprecedented arrival numbers, official data showed on Thursday.

MADRID (AP) — More than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Thursday.

Spain has recorded one of its highest numbers of irregular migrant arrivals in 2024, with 63,970 people entering the country by land and sea routes, marking a 12.5% increase from 2023, according to the latest data from the Spanish Ministry of Interior.

Spain received 63,970 people who arrived through irregular routes last year, including 46,843 in the Canary Islands.