Nearly 90,000 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in EU in 2015

Migrants and refugees look on after minor clashes with Greek policemen occurred at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Some 88,300 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in the European Union in 2015, 13 percent of them children younger than 14, crossing continents without their parents to seek a place of safety, EU data showed on Monday.

More than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa reached Europe last year. While that was roughly double the 2014 figure, the number of unaccompanied minors quadrupled, statistics agency Eurostat said.