More than 4,400 migrants died last year trying to reach Spain by sea, according to a respected Spanish aid organization.
The number has doubled compared to 2020 - at that time 2170 migrants died, the aid organization Caminando Fronteras, which is very well networked in Africa, announced on Monday.
There has never been so many deaths as in 2021.
On the route from West Africa to the Canary Islands alone, 4016 people died in the Atlantic, it said.
The number of the Spanish organization is about three and a half times that of the UN Organization for Migration (IOM).
Caminando Fronteras said that the organization's activists had direct contact with survivors of boat wrecks and with the families of migrants in Africa.
In all cases, data from primary sources would be compared with information from migrant communities, government agencies and social organizations.
The IOM also admits on its homepage: "Since fatal accidents are often only registered weeks or months later, the final number of fatalities in 2021 is likely to be much higher."
Caminando Fronteras points out that the 4404 victims are 4,175 confirmed deaths and 229 migrants who disappeared months after attempting to migrate and were almost certainly dead.
According to its own record, 628 women and 205 children were among the victims.