Nearly 100,000 unaccompanied child refugees applied for asylum in 2015

Over 95,000 unaccompanied minors have applied for asylum in Europe in 2015, a four-fold rise compared to 2014, according to the British Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Sweden recorded the highest number of unaccompanied child asylum applications with 35,369, followed by Germany (14,439), Austria (9,331) and Hungary (8,804). The numbers highlight the serious problems regarding the capacity of EU member-states to deal with large refugee-migrant flows, as well as the precarious future of the children. A UNISEF representative told EUobserver that the number of unaccompanied refugee children entering Europe was high, as nearly 1,156 were registered in Greece in the first 11 weeks of 2016. European statistical services (Eurostat) is expected to publish its numbers on the matter soon.