Geneva, 7 October 2026 – More than 20,000 of the 31,100 children who reached Europe along mixed migration routes last year arrived without a parent or guardian, new UN data show. International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope urged closer cooperation between European States and countries along the routes to protect children travelling alone and to counter the smuggling and criminal networks that prey on them.

The findings suggest that reduced opportunities for safe, protection-sensitive movement along these routes may be pushing young people towards riskier journeys, with greater reliance on smugglers and greater exposure to violence, exploitation and abuse.

“Children are making difficult and dangerous journeys without a parent or guardian by their side,” said Amy Pope, IOM Director General. “This report shows how exposed they are to violence and exploitation when safe pathways are limited, and they have to rely on smugglers. No child should have to face these risks alone. Our shared responsibility is to work across borders to protect them, uphold their rights, and provide the care and support they need.”

Overall child arrivals by sea and land in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain fell by 25 per cent compared with 2024. Of the children who arrived, 78 per cent were boys and 22 per cent were girls. But the share recorded as unaccompanied rose to 67 per cent, up from 51 per cent a year earlier. The highest proportions were in Italy and Spain, where 86 per cent of children arrived alone.

Italy ran against the downward trend. Overall arrivals there were stable, yet the number of children rose by 12 per cent to almost 14,100, most of them from Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Bangladesh and Ethiopia.

The journeys are dangerous. IOM interviewed more than 4,600 adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 along the Mediterranean, Western African Atlantic and Western Balkan routes. Nearly half of those asked about their experiences reported physical violence. On the Central Mediterranean route, 28 per cent said they had been held against their will, and 17 per cent said they had been forced to work. Libya remained the country most often cited as the place where abuse occurred.

Meanwhile, safe alternatives narrowed. Children made up half of the 6,800 people in refugee resettlement procedures to Europe in 2025: 3,400 children, compared with 8,900 a year earlier. Separately, only 199 children were relocated between European States under the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism, down 67 per cent, and none of them was unaccompanied.

In total, 214,600 children sought international protection in Europe in 2025, 79 per cent of them first-time applicants. Around 71 per cent of first-time applications were lodged in just four countries: Germany (30 per cent), France (19 per cent), Spain (15 per cent) and Greece (7 per cent). Of 210,900 first-instance decisions on children’s claims, 56 per cent were positive, while rejections rose by 25 per cent.

IOM urges European Union Member States to put the best interests of the child at the centre of every decision, to guarantee timely access to services, and never to detain children for immigration purposes. Unaccompanied and separated children should have immediate access to legal representation. Age assessments should be rare, child-sensitive and open to appeal.

The report, Migrant and Refugee Children via Mixed Migration Routes in Europe: Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated – Overview of Trends 2025, is jointly produced by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF and IOM. It provides detailed statistics and analysis on accompanied, unaccompanied and separated children arriving in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain via sea and land mixed migration routes, and is available here.