(Reuters) The number of unaccompanied children who sought asylum in the European Union in 2021 jumped by 72% as the number of refugees arriving from Afghanistan rose sharply, the bloc’s statistics office said on Wednesday.
Overall, however, the number of asylum seekers who were granted protection in the European Union fell 5% last year, Eurostat said, without giving reasons.
Eurostat said 23,255 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum last year, up from 13,550 in 2020. Most of those who came from Afghanistan, where the Taliban seized power from the former U.S.-backed government last August, were male and aged 16 or 17.
The war-torn country’s economy collapsed last year and thousands fled after U.S. and other foreign forces withdrew.
