The Rise of Young Asylum Seekers in Europe

As highlighted in today's UNICEF report 'A Child is a Child', the number of young children applying for asylum in Europe has continued to rise, reaching a new peak last year. According to figures from Eurostat, there were almost 290,000 first time applicants in 2016 that were under the age of 14.

Of all child asylum seekers in Europe, 170,000 were not accompanied by an adult in 2015-2016. In fact, 92 percent of all minors arriving in Italy by sea in 2016 and the first months of 2017 were unaccompanied. Globally, children account for around 28 percent of all trafficking victims.