The EU recorded 669,710 first-time asylum applications in 2025, alongside 325,955 positive first-instance decisions and 49,025 positive decisions on appeal or review.
Application numbers and outcomes shifted widely between 2014 and 2025, with the highest number of first-time applicants recorded in 2015 at 1,216,860, Eurostat informed on Friday.
The peak for positive first-instance decisions came a year later, in 2016, when 662,955 applications were accepted at the initial stage.
The highest number of positive decisions after an appeal or review was recorded in 2018, at 103,365.
Venezuelans were the largest group of first-time asylum applicants in 2025, filing 89,455 applications — 13.4% of the EU total.
Afghans made 63,900 applications, accounting for 9.5% of the total, while Syrians were third with 40,405 applications, or 6.0%.
Temporary protection for people fleeing Ukraine
The EU granted temporary protection to 683,475 people fleeing Ukraine in 2025, Eurostat said, referring to the scheme used to provide immediate protection without going through the full asylum process.
The highest number of temporary protection decisions was in 2022, when 4,330,980 people received the status across the EU after the mechanism was activated.
Eurostat published the figures ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June, which is observed internationally to draw attention to people forced to flee because of conflict or persecution.
