The lack of a common definition of “missing child,” and a common response to the issue, results in few reliable statistics on the scope of the problem around the world.
Even with this challenge, we know that:Each year, about 50,000 missing person reports are received by police across Australia; half of these reports involve young people aged between 13 and 17.
Australian Federal Police, Media Release, at https://afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/international-missing-childrens-day-2025-six-stories-remind-us-keep
In Canada, there were 34,189 missing children reports in 2025.
Government of Canada, Fast fact sheet: MC/PUR missing child subjects by province, sex and probable cause for 2025, at https://canadasmissing.ca/pubs/2025/index-eng.htm#s6
In 2024, in France, 38,477 reports of missing children were made to the police and gendarmerie, according to the Ministry of Interior.
116000 enfants disparus, Missing children in 2024, at https://www.116000enfantsdisparus.fr/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/116000_Rapport_Les-Disparitions-de-mineurs-en-France-en-2024_VDEF.pdf
In Germany, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office, during 2025, approximately 19,200 children ages 13 and under and 87,900 young people ages 14-17 were reported missing.
Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), at https://www.bka.de/DE/UnsereAufgaben/Ermittlungsunterstuetzung/BearbeitungVermisstenfaelle/bearbeitungVermisstenfaelle.html;
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India‘s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported that a total of 98,375 children were reported missing in 2024, an increase of 7.8% from 2023.
The Print, at https://theprint.in/india/98375-kids-went-missing-in-india-in-2024-an-8-jump-from-2023-but-theres-a-silver-lining/2924633/
In Italy from January through August 2025, 11,411 minors were reported missing, 47 per day, according to the Annual Report from the Office of the Extraordinary Government Commissioner for Missing Persons.
XXXII Relazione AGGIORNAMENTO Gennaio – Agosto 2025, Commissario straordinario del Governo per la gestione del fenomeno delle persone scomparse, at https://commissari.gov.it/media/qtvbjidb/xxxii-relazione-aggiornamento-gen-ago-2025.pdf
In Kenya, over 8,800 missing children cases were reported in 2024, according to data from the Child Protection Information Management System.
They Vanished Without a Trace: Kenya’s Missing Children Crisis Is a National Failure We Can No Longer Ignore, at https://sokodirectory.com/2026/04/they-vanished-without-a-trace-kenyas-missing-children-crisis-is-a-national-failure-we-can-no-longer-ignore/
In 2024, in Lithuania, 1,967 children were reported missing.
Lithuania Official Statistics Portal, at https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize#/
From May 20, 2024, to May 20, 2025, there were 9,548 reports of missing minors in Romania, of which approximately 24% were children under 5 years to 14 years of age.
Over 9,500 reports of missing minors in the last year, Radio Romania, at https://www.bucurestifm.ro/2025/05/23/peste-9-500-de-sesizari-privind-minori-disparuti-in-ultimul-an/
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 38,442 children went missing in Russia in 2024.
Liza Alert: Every year, approximately 1,000 children are reported missing in Russia, TASS, at https://tass.ru/obschestvo/24019319
In South Korea, there were 29,563 reports of missing children in 2025.
National Police Agency, Status of receiving and handling reports of missing children, at https://www.index.go.kr/unity/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1610
In 2025, 25,086 reports of missing persons were made in Spain, of which 15,389 were minors.
CNDES, 2026 Informe Anual Personas Desaparecidas, at https://cndes-web.ses.mir.es/publico/Desaparecidos/dam/jcr:a6d5f305-b802-4691-9c29-96d38463fa31/Informe%20anual%202026.pdf
In the United Kingdom, over 66,665 children were reported missing in 196,645 incidents in 2023/2024.
Statistical Tables for UK Missing Persons Unit Data Report, 2023/24, National Crime Agency, at http://www.missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/resources/downloads/missing-persons-statistical-bulletins
In 2025, there were 305,339 reports of missing children in the United States.
Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2025 NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics, at https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/cjis/2025-ncic-missing-person-and-unidentified-person-statistics.pdf/view
This, however, is only a snapshot of the problem. In many countries, statistics on missing children are not even available; and, unfortunately, even available statistics may be inaccurate due to: under-reporting/under-recognition; inflation; incorrect database entry of case information; and deletion of records once a case is closed.
The lack of numbers, and the discrepancy in the numbers that do exist, is one of the key reasons why ICMEC developed and advocates for the Model Missing Child Framework, which assists countries with building strong, well-rounded national responses, and facilitates more efficient investigations, management, and resolution of missing children cases.
At ICMEC, we firmly believe that one missing child is one too many, and we are committed to improving the global understanding of and response to missing and abducted children.