Key facts
- Two-thirds of refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe last year were unaccompanied.
- The proportion of unaccompanied child arrivals rose to 67% in 2025 from 51% in 2024.
- Over 20,000 unaccompanied children arrived in European countries in 2025.
- Nearly half of interviewed children experienced physical violence, torture, or kidnapping.
- Libya was most frequently identified as a location where abuses occurred.
- Refugee resettlement numbers for children in Europe fell to 3,400 in 2025 from 8,900.
More than two-thirds of refugee and migrant children who reached Europe via Mediterranean and Balkan routes last year were unaccompanied, and many experienced exploitation, a report by UN agencies showed on Wednesday.
While overall child arrivals by land and sea fell 25% from 2024 levels, the proportion travelling alone rose to 67%, from 51% in 2024, according to the report by the International Organization for Migration, UNHCR and UNICEF.
More than 20,000 of the 31,100 children who arrived in European countries including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain in 2025 were recorded as unaccompanied or separated from a parent or guardian. More children arriving in Italy and Spain were unaccompanied - 86% - than those arriving in other countries. In Italy, there was a 12% increase in the number of children arriving, many from Egypt, Eritrea, Bangladesh and Somalia.
Poverty, conflict and environmental hazards are among the reasons people undertake perilous sea crossings, and shrinking safe migration pathways appeared to be pushing more children into dangerous journeys and the hands of smugglers, the report found.
The number of children involved in refugee resettlement procedures in Europe dropped to 3,400 in 2025 from 8,900 a year earlier, while only 199 children were relocated between European countries under the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism, down 67%.
Interviews with more than 4,600 15- to 24-year-olds travelling along Mediterranean, West African Atlantic and Western Balkan routes found nearly half had experienced physical violence. Most accounts involved multiple forms of violence including torture and kidnapping in transit and at border crossings, and some others included reports of forced labour. Libya was the country most frequently identified as the location where abuses occurred. About a tenth of those interviewed who had used the Eastern Mediterranean Route reported having been falsely promised well-paid jobs, safe journeys, or legal travel documents.