People with luggage.

In February 2025, 59 085 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in EU countries, marking a 23% decrease compared with February 2024 (77 170) and a 12% decline compared with January 2025 (66 800). 

There were also 7 630 subsequent applicants, representing a 6% increase compared with February 2024 (7 175) and a 6% drop compared with January 2025 (8 080).

This information comes from the monthly asylum data published by Eurostat today. 
First-time and subsequent asylum applicants in the EU, January 2021 - February 2025

Source dataset: migr_asyappctzm

Largest group of asylum seekers from Venezuela

In February 2025, Venezuelans remained the largest group of people seeking asylum (8 345 first-time applicants), followed by Afghans (5 610) and Syrian nationals (4 630).

Spain, Germany, France and Italy received 77% of first-time applicants

Spain (12 805), Germany (11 185), France (10 725) and Italy (10 715) received the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for 77% of all first-time applicants in the EU.
The EU total rate of first-time asylum applicants in February 2025 was 13.2 per hundred thousand people. Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2024), the highest rates of first-time applicants were recorded in Greece (40.2), ahead of Spain (26.3) and Luxembourg (25.6).

1 720 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum

Unaccompanied minors in the EU, February 2025

Source dataset: migr_asyumactm

In February 2025, a total of 1 720 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, most of them coming from Syria (300), Afghanistan (210) and Egypt (200).
The EU country that received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors was Germany (575), followed by Spain (330) and Greece (245).