ADEN — The maritime route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen remained the world’s most frequented migration corridor in 2019, with 138,000 migrants and refugees arriving despite an active civil war, according to the International Organization for Migration. On average, 11,500 people boarded ships making the crossing each month — a figure that exceeded monthly Mediterranean crossings for the second consecutive year.
More than 110,000 migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean to Europe over the same period. The so-called Eastern Route — stretching from Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen’s southern coast — has now outpaced the Mediterranean for two consecutive years, a shift that has reshaped how the IOM’s Yemen operations prioritize response alongside an active conflict.
“While the tragedies along the Mediterranean roads are well known, our staff testify daily to the abuse suffered by young people in the Horn of Africa at the hands of smugglers and traffickers who exploit their hopes for a better life,” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM Regional Director for the Horn of Africa. In 2018, around 150,000 people made the crossing — slightly more than in 2019, but part of the same sustained upward trend.
Nearly 90% of those arriving in Yemen in 2019 intended to continue their journey to Saudi Arabia. More than 90% were Ethiopian nationals, primarily from rural Oromia, Amhara, and Tigray — regions where economic opportunity is scarce and insecurity has been rising. The Gulf States’ strict immigration policies for undocumented migrants have not broken the flow.
Five years of war had, if anything, concentrated risk in the transit zones rather than deterring movement. The Sanaa migrants’ detention center fire, which killed dozens in 2021, illustrated the compounding dangers those who survive the sea crossing continue to face inside Yemen. Most travel in search of economic opportunities that do not exist at home; others flee insecurity, human rights abuses, and deteriorating living conditions.
The destination at the end of the route has not always been welcoming. Saudi Arabia’s repeated crackdowns on undocumented migrants — including the mass arrest of more than 10,000 illegal residents in a single enforcement sweep — have not significantly reduced the flow. What drives the crossing is not the safety of the destination but the impossibility of staying behind.
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