Between 1 January and 31 October 2018, 3,346 unaccompanied and separated children arrived in Italy by sea, representing 15% of all sea arrivals in this period. Consistent with an overall decrease in sea arrivals this year so far, the number of UASC reaching Italian shores in the first ten months of 2018 is considerably lower than in the same period last year, when almost 14,600 landed in Italy. However, the proportion of UASC among sea arrivals in the January-October 2018 period (15 per cent) is slightly higher than in January-October 2017 (13 per cent).
It is estimated that UASC arriving by sea in the first ten months of 2018 most commonly originate from Tunisia (814), Eritrea (602), Sudan (252), and Pakistan (208). During this period, significant numbers of UASC also originate from Côte d'Ivoire (189), Mali (163), Nigeria (157), Guinea (142), Somalia (137), and Algeria (137). According to UNHCR estimates, approximately half of UASC arrivals in the January-October 2018 period originate from Eritrea, Tunisia, and Sudan. Furthermore, UASC from the ten most common nationalities cumulatively represent 84 per cent of UASC arriving by sea. In the first ten months of 2018, 35 per cent of Sierra Leonean arrivals were UASC, followed by 32 per cent of Somali arrivals, 24 per cent of Gambians, 20 per cent of Eritreans, 19 per cent of Malians, and 18 per cent of Ivoirians.
