In February 2026, a total of 46,420 first-time asylum applicants (non-EU citizens) applied for international protection in the countries of the European Union. This represents a 21%
decrease compared with February 2025 (59,080) and a 9% decline compared with January 2026 (51,160).
At the same time, there were 9,080 subsequent asylum applicants, marking a 12% increase compared with February 2025 (8,090), but a 4% decrease compared with January 2026 (9,500).
Main countries of origin
The largest group of first-time asylum seekers in February 2026 came from:
- Venezuela – 6,835 applicants
- Afghanistan – 4,325 applicants
- Bangladesh – 3,450 applicants
- Egypt – 1,815 applicants
Main destination countries in the EU
Four member states received the majority of applications, accounting for 77% of all first-time asylum claims:
- Italy – 10,560 applicants
- Spain – 10,410 applicants
- France – 7,900 applicants
- Germany – 6,985 applicants
Asylum pressure relative to population
Across the European Union, the average rate was 10.3 first-time applicants per 100,000 inhabitants in February 2026.
The highest rates were recorded in:
- Greece – 34.3 per 100,000
- Spain – 21.2 per 100,000
- Ireland – 18.4 per 100,000
Pending asylum applications
At the end of February 2026, there were 1.20 million asylum applications pending decisions in the EU:
- +1% compared with January 2026 (1.19 million)
- −4% compared with February 2025 (1.25 million)
Countries with the largest backlogs were:
- Germany – 291,245 cases
- Spain – 251,140 cases
- Italy – 237,485 cases (low reliability)
Unaccompanied minors
In February 2026, 1,015 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU.
Main countries of origin were:
- Somalia – 215
- Venezuela – 165
- Afghanistan – 105
- Egypt – 80
- Guinea – 55
EU countries receiving the highest numbers of unaccompanied minors were:
- Germany – 255
- Spain – 190
- Netherlands – 130
- France – 130
- Greece – 115
Source: Eurostat, Photo by Mstyslav Chernov, Wikimedia commons.