Nearly 47 child migrants a day vanished in Europe since 2021, research reveals

Around 47 children vanish every day in Europe, according to new research by cross-border journalism collective Lost in Europe showing more than 50,000 child migrants went missing after arrival over the past three years.

Data requested from 31 European countries, including Austria, Germany, and Italy, show at least 51,433 unaccompanied refugee minors were registered as missing between 2021 and the end of 2023. The actual figure could be higher due to inadequate documentation of cases, with some countries not collecting data on such children at all.

The research builds on findings released in 2021 that revealed at least 18,000 child migrants disappeared upon arrival in Europe in the three years from January 2018 to December 2020.