Age structure of of migrants across the world

Migrant children embark on journeys that are dangerous and often fatal. They may be accompanied by their parents, guardians or other adults, or they may be alone. Children may migrate in regular or irregular ways. The lattermay involve their irregular entry into a third country or their regular entry into a third country where they overstay their visa or end up in an irregular situation in other ways. Migrant children also include children born in host countries to migrant parents. Children left behind by parents who migrate are likewise affected by migration, and may in turn end up as unaccompanied child migrants, seeking to reunite with their families.
There were 36 million migrant children in the world in 2020, according to Unicef estimates. In 2022, approximately 35 200 migrant children, of whom some 23 500 (67 %) unaccompanied or separated, arrived in the southern European countries. Migrant child arrivals increased by 46 % in 2022 compared to 2021 (24 147). Many of them go missing, but according to the International Organization for Migration, data on their numbers are quite limited and difficult to find. Nevertheless, Missing Children Europe – the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children – holds evidence that each year tens of thousands of migrant children go missing after arriving in Europe.
Irregular migrant children face numerous obstacles and challenges during and after their migration . As pointed out by both Unicef and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in their respective guidelines on children’s rights and detention of asylum-seekers, such children should not be held responsible for the situation they are in, either morally or legally. As one of the most vulnerable groups in society, they need respect, protection and fulfilment of their fundamental rights.
The vulnerable situation of migrant children and specifically those who are unaccompanied and separated, and the threats they face, need to be addressed, particularly considering the increase in their number worldwide and their vulnerability. For this purpose, the EU has adopted several legislatives acts and numerous instruments, which offer special protection to such children and address their vulnerabilities through a ‘best interests of the child’ principle.