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3 out of 10 first-time asylum applicants are children

In 2020, 129.630 children (persons under 18 years old) lodged a first-time application for asylum in the EU which corresponds to 31% of the total number of first-time asylum applications recorded in the EU.

Among those children, 10% were unaccompanied minors corresponding to 3% of the total number of first-time asylum applicants.

Across the EU Member States, the share of children in the total number of first-time asylum applicants varied in 2020 from 54% in Germany to 6% in Slovakia, whereas the share of unaccompanied minors in the total number of first-time asylum applicants was the highest in Bulgaria (23%) and the lowest in Spain (0.1%).

Source: 
Eurostat, 26 July 2021