Alone, On the Move and Unseen
Spotlighting the urgent needs of unaccompanied and separated children
Whether crossing borders or on the move internally, unaccompanied and separated children are found along every migration and displacement route. Frequently driven from home by conflict, violence or disasters, tens of thousands of them have been identified in countries around the world. Children who travel alone often face severe deprivations and grave risks – both during their journeys and after reaching their destinations.
Yet many remain invisible and uncounted, due to a scarcity of data and evidence.
This brief by the International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC) calls for urgent global action to close these data gaps and strengthen evidence-based policies that uphold the rights of unaccompanied and separated children. Based on a 2025 literature review of more than 200 sources, it identifies key trends by age, gender, migration status and route, and other variables. It underscores the heightened risks and vulnerabilities these children face, illustrated by testimonials provided by youth who were once on the move and alone themselves.
While there are a number of challenges involved in producing quality data on unaccompanied and separated children, progress is possible with strong political will and coordinated commitments. By highlighting good practices from different contexts, the brief demonstrates how the global community can strategically build responsive statistical systems that both protect and empower children on the move without a parent or caregiver.
As an IDAC product, this publication was developed in collaboration with Eurostat, IOM, OECD, UNHCR and UNICEF. IDAC members – including NGOs and national statistical offices representing Greece, Italy and Serbia – provided key inputs, insights and good practices to help guide action and investment on this critical child rights issue.
Adolescents represent the largest proportion by age of the unaccompanied and separated child population, where data are available
In 2024, a significant majority of unaccompanied child asylum applicants were male
Age and sex distribution of asylum applicants in the EU considered to be unaccompanied (n=32,230)5 and events of unaccompanied children found in irregular situation in Mexico (n=6,203)6 in 2024
1 ‘Eurostat, ‘Asylum Applicants Considered to Be Unaccompanied Minors by Citizenship, Age and Sex – Annual data’, September 2025, and ‘Asylum Applicants by Type, Citizenship, Age and Sex – Annual aggregated data’, September 2025.
2 UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM, ‘Migrant and Refugee Children via Mixed Migration Routes in Europe: Accompanied, unaccompanied and separated – Overview of Trends, 2024’, September 2025.
3 Migration Policy Unit, Boletín mensual de estadística migratoria, Mexico Secretariat of the Interior, August 2025.
4 UNICEF, ‘Strategic Plan and Core Standard Indicators Dashboards: Indicator 3.2.6’, Internal database.
5 ‘Asylum Applicants Considered to Be Unaccompanied Minors by Citizenship, Age and Sex’ and ‘Asylum Applicants by Type, Citizenship, Age and Sex’. Percentages do not add up to 100% because the sex is unknown for less than 1% of the population.
6 Boletín mensual de estadística migratoria.
