In 2025, minors accounted for 23.7% of all first-time asylum applicants in the European Union, according to recent Eurostat data. A total of 158.400 children applied for asylum for the first time, including a significant proportion of unaccompanied minors. While the overall number of minor applicants declined compared to previous years, children continue to represent a substantial share of asylum seekers in the EU.

In 2023, Belgium registered 8,8% fewer first-time asylum applicants than in 2022, that is to say, 29.260 in 2023 compared to 32.100 in 2022. On the contrary, the number of first-time asylum applicants registered in the whole EU in 2023 reached 1.048.880, which represents an increase of 20.1 % compared to 2022.