Keyfactsabout
childrenonthemove

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Who are they?

Children who have been directly or indirectly affected by migration and displacement.

They include:

Migrant childrenRefugee children
Asylum-seeking childrenInternally displaced children
Children of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekersUnaccompanied and separated children
Child victims of cross-border traffickingChildren who stay behind
Stateless children

For more information, see: IDAC’s terminology brief.

How many are there worldwide?

How many have fled conflict?

The latest data show that 45.3 million children have been displaced internally and across borders due to conflict, violence and other human rights violations.

48.7MTotal forciblydisplaced children48.7MTotal forciblydisplaced children29.4MConflict-relatedinternally displacedchildren 29.4MConflict-relatedinternally displacedchildren2.7MAsylum-seekingchildren2.7MAsylum-seekingchildren1.6MPalestine refugeechildren (UNRWA)1.6MPalestine refugeechildren (UNRWA)15.0MRefugee and other internationally displaced children15.0MRefugee and otherinternationallydisplaced children

The number of children forcibly displaced, both internally and internationally, has nearly tripled since 2010.

Where do refugee children come from?

Almost 85 per cent of refugee children originated in 10 countries.

Where do they live?

More than half of refugee children are hosted in 10 countries.

How many children are displaced in their own countries?

At the end of 2025, an estimated 32.7 million children were internally displaced. 27.5 million of them had fled conflict and violence.

How many times were children internally displaced in 2025?

In 2025, an estimated 21.5 million new internal displacements of children occurred globally – more than half were tied to disasters.

How are climate-driven shocks shaping displacement?

Since 2016, most internal child displacements have been tied to weather-related hazards.

How many children on the move are alone?

Data from major arrival points suggest an alarming number of children travel unaccompanied or become separated from their parents. Adolescents make up the largest share of them.

In Europe, 39,000 unaccompanied and separated children were among asylum-seekers in 2024.

In the United States, at least 110,000 children who arrived via the southern border with Mexico in 2024 were unaccompanied.

How many migrant children have died or gone missing while on the move?

Between 2014 and 29 August 2024, at least 4,396 children died or disappeared during their migration journey.

Each flower represents 50 children who have died or disappeared

But this is a gross underestimate of the true number, as data on missing migrants are difficult to collect.

The gaps in the data

The data tell us a lot, but not everything. The reality is, the number of children on the move remains unknown.

Loading data gaps…

Data on migrant and displaced children are not routinely collected, analysed or used in many countries.

Behind every data gap
is a child whose story
goes untold

IDAC's mission is to make these children visible, counted and protected.

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