Smugglers Prey on Children as 20,800 of 31,100 Reached Europe Alone in 2025

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. 

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.

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.