The number of refugee and migrant populations in Greece was 55% lower in January 2023 than in the same month last year, according to new figures announced by Greek migration authorities. However, the number of unaccompanied minors continues to raise concern.
The Greek government reported a 55% reduction in migrants and refugees on the mainland in January compared to the same month last year.
There has also been a significant reduction in the number of people housed in designated refugee accommodation units and/or closed and controlled reception centers.
Sharp drop
"There were a total of 14,336 migrants/refugees in January, almost half the amount in the same month last year (31,508)," local Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported last week.
"This decrease...shows a steady downward trend," the newspaper wrote.
The figures also indicated that the number of arrivals in January were down 20% from December 2022.
A similar decrease was seen on Greek islands (23%).
Meanwhile, the flow of people coming over the Evros border also eased, with a 2% decrease in January 2023 compared to December 2022.
Large numbers of unaccompanied minors
The release of this data was followed by the publication of more figures on unaccompanied migrant children in Greece, for whom the situation remains extremely difficult.
As of March 2, there are around 2,374 unaccompanied children in Greece -- more than the country has capacity to deal with -- according to the the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
The European Union recently stated that the number of unaccompanied children who sought asylum in the European Union between 2021 and 2022 surged by 72%.
This was the result of a sharp rise in the number of people fleeing Afghanistan, the bloc's statistics office Eurostat said last month.
Mostly males, relocation to other countries slow
Of the thousands of unaccompanied migrant minors in Greece, 83% are boys and 17% are girls, according to the country's authorities.
These individuals are staying in various types of accommodation facilities in the country.
Overall, Greece has a total capacity of 2,512 places in accommodation centers and emergency accommodation facilities.
These numbers have remained more or less stable since September 2021, highlighting the fact that continuous influxes of people make it difficult for Greece to reduce the number, as the process of relocating children to other EU countries is slow.