(11 May 2017) – In 2016, 63 300 asylum seekers applying for international protection in the Member States of the European Union were considered to be unaccompanied minors.
Their number was down by about a third compared with 2015 (with almost 96 500 unaccompanied minors registered) but still about 5 times higher than the annual average during the period 2008-2013 (around 12 000 per year).
A substantial majority of unaccompanied minors were males (89%) and over two-thirds were aged 16 to 17 (68%, or about 43 300 persons), while those aged 14 to 15 accounted for 21% (around 13 500 persons) and those aged less than 14 for 10% (almost 6 300 persons).
More than a third (38%) of asylum applicants considered to be unaccompanied minors in the EU in 2016 were Afghans and about a fifth (19%) Syrians. Six in ten applied for asylum in Germany.