4 Ordered to leave and returned 2023_share standalone

Migrant children, including unaccompanied minors, who are irregularly present can be ordered to leave EU territory under the Return Directive under certain conditions, including respect for the best interests of the child. Overall, 51 100 children were ordered to leave the EU in 2023. The bar chart below shows that children represented 4.5 % of the total number of third-country nationals ordered to leave in 2023 and 6.4 % of the total number of third-country nationals returned from the EU. Among the children ordered to leave, 65 % were boys. In addition, more than 13 900 children were returned from the EU in 2023, of which 55 % were boys. The age of some of the third-country nationals ordered to leave (12.1 %) and returned from (5.9 %) the EU is unknown, so it is impossible to determine if any of them were under the age of 18.