Eurostat report on asylum decisions in Cyprus and the EU for 2025

In 2025, Cyprus issued 8,575 primary decisions regarding asylum applications, with Syrian nationals comprising the largest group at 3,340, followed by citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo at 1,450 and Nigeria at 545. Across the European Union, member states granted protection status to 361,325 individuals, marking an 18% decrease compared to 2024. Of those granted protection in the EU, 51% received refugee status, 25% humanitarian status, and 24% subsidiary protection. Germany, Spain, and France accounted for 70% of all positive asylum decisions in the EU, granting 103,360, 76,210, and 72,930 statuses respectively. Afghan nationals were the largest group of beneficiaries across the EU at 27%, followed by Venezuelans at 16%, and Syrians and Ukrainians at 5% each. Comparative statistics show that while humanitarian status increased by 11% compared to 2024, refugee status saw a minor decline of 0.5%, and subsidiary protection decreased by 50%. The data was formally released by Eurostat on Friday.