5 Top ten nationalities of children ordered to leave the EU and or returned in 2019

Figure 5 shows the top nationalities of children ordered to leave and/or returned from the EU in 2019. In 2019, the top four countries of origin of children ordered to leave the EU were Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Algeria, whereas the top four countries of origin of children effectively returned from the EU were Russia, Albania, Ukraine and Georgia. These differences suggest a more collaborative approach to return procedures on the part of certain countries of origin, but also the fact that the internal situation in certain countries of origin may prevent the enforcement of return decisions issued against their nationals (e.g. Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria).