Some 90,000 Unaccompanied Minors Applied for Asylum in EU in 2015

88 300 asylum seekers applying for international protection in the Member States of the European Union (EU) were considered to be unaccompanied minors, according to EU statistical information agency Eurostat.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Almost 90,000 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in the European Union in 2015, EU statistical information agency Eurostat said in a press release on Monday.

"In 2015, 88 300 asylum seekers applying for international protection in the Member States of the European Union (EU) were considered to be unaccompanied minors," the press release read.

According to the press release, 57 percent of unaccompanied minors were teenagers aged 16 and 17. Boys constituted an absolute majority of asylum seekers, with 91 percent of male unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in the European Union.

"In 2015, the highest number of asylum applicants considered to be unaccompanied minors was registered in Sweden (with almost 35 300 unaccompanied minors, or 40% of all those registered in the EU Member States), followed by Germany (14 400, or 16%), Hungary (8 800, or 10%) and Austria (8 300, or 9%)," the press release continued.

Some 51 percent of unaccompanied minors originate from Afghanistan, according to the press release.

More than 1.8 million migrants entered the European Union in 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex.