2 Third country nationals found to be irregularly present in EU

Irregular border crossing often leads to an unauthorised presence in the territory of the Member States. Figure 2 shows the evolution in the number of third-country nationals found to be irregularly present on EU territory since 2013 and the share among them of children. In 2020, children represented 6 % of the total number of third- country nationals found to be irregularly present in the EU, with a clear predominance of boys over the age of 14. The overall number of children found to be irregularly present in the EU decreased substantially in 2020 in comparison with previous years, from close to 58 000 children found to be irregularly present in the EU in 2019 to nearly half that number (30 000) in 2020.