Italy rejected 2,220 asylum applications filed by Nigerian nationals in 2025, with 4,120 other cases still pending, according to official data.
This is contained in the 2025 Italy Country Report of the Asylum Information Database (AIDA), which showed that 3,385 Nigerians applied for asylum in Italy within the year under review.
The report stated that Italian authorities took 3,390 decisions on Nigerian cases. Of that number, 660 applicants were granted refugee status, 55 received subsidiary protection, while 460 were given special protection under Italian law.
Overall, 1,175 Nigerian applicants received one form of protection or the other, representing a 34.66 percent approval rate — higher than Italy’s national average of 30 percent.
Nigeria was listed as the only sub-Saharan African country among the top 10 nationalities with the highest number of asylum applications in Italy in 2025.
According to AIDA, Italy received a total of 126,635 first-time asylum requests in 2025, a drop from the 151,120 recorded in 2024.
The report also disclosed that 16 unaccompanied Nigerian minors were among children who sought asylum in the country during the year.