(02 May 2016) – In 2015, 88 300 asylum seekers applying for international protection in the Member States of the European Union were considered to be unaccompanied minors. 91% were males and 51 were Afghans.
While their number always stood between 11 000 and 13 000 in the EU over the period 2008-2013, it almost doubled in 2014 to reach slightly more than 23 000 persons, then nearly quadrupled in 2015.
In 2015, a substantial majority of unaccompanied minors were males (91%) and over half were aged 16 to 17 (57%, or 50 500 persons), while those aged 14 to 15 accounted for 29% (25 800 persons) and those aged less than 14 for 13% (11 800 persons). Around half (51%) of unaccompanied minors were Afghans.
The highest number of unaccompanied minors was registered in Sweden (with almost 35 300 unaccompanied minors, or 40% of all those registered in the EU Member States), followed by Germany (14 400, or 16%), Hungary (8 800, or 10%) and Austria (8 300, or 9%). Together these four Member States accounted for three-quarters of all unaccompanied minors registered in the EU in 2015.