More than 50,000 unaccompanied children disappeared in Europe

At least 51,433 unaccompanied minors have disappeared from asylum centres in Europe between 2021 and 2023. This is according to an investigation by the journalists' collective Lost in Europe in which Knack, VRT NWS and De Standaard collaborated.

Unaccompanied minors continue to disappear in Europe. These are vulnerable children and young people at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking and slavery. Lost in Europe collected data from European countries showing that as many as 51,433 disappearances were recorded in the past three years. In the previous period (2018-2020), the figure was about 18,000 disappearances.