Nearly one in four people applying for asylum in the EU for the first time in 2025 were children.
A total of 158,400 first-time asylum applicants registered in EU countries were minors — defined as under 18 — representing 23.7% of all first-time applications, Eurostat reported on Wednesday.
Unaccompanied minors accounted for 13.3% of those child applicants, equal to 3.8% of all first-time applicants.
The share of minors among first-time asylum applicants was highest in Austria (57.3%), followed by Germany (44.9%) and Finland (31.2%).
Among child applicants, the highest proportions of unaccompanied minors were recorded in Slovenia (78.6%), Latvia (72.9%) and Bulgaria (56.2%).
The Netherlands (49.8%) and Lithuania (47.1%) also had high shares.
Where child applicants came from and asylum outcomes
Of minor first-time asylum applicants in 2025, 39.0% came from Asia, 27.3% from Africa, 18.2% from the Americas and 13.9% from European countries outside the EU, Eurostat reported.
The three most common citizenships among minors seeking asylum were Afghan (16.9%), Syrian (13.0%) and Venezuelan (10.7%).
The proportion of unaccompanied minors among child applicants was 27.4% for those from Africa, compared with 9.4% from Asia, 8.1% from the Americas and 3.1% from Europe.
Afghan nationals were the largest group among unaccompanied minors, making up 12.3%, followed by Eritreans (11.6%) and Syrians (11.5%).
EU countries issued 229,485 asylum decisions on applications lodged by minors in 2025, including 201,900 first-instance decisions and 27,585 final decisions after an appeal or review.
Protection status was granted to 119,435 minors in total, including 112,835 at first instance and 6,600 after appeal or review.
