How many countries participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025?

How to get close to this number

Anchor on Europe and adjust. The continent has around forty-five countries, not all of them participate, and a few non-European broadcasters take part because eligibility runs through a broadcasting union rather than through geography. Those adjustments roughly cancel, which lands the figure in the high thirties.

Eligibility is the thing to understand, and it is the source of most confusion. Participation depends on membership of a broadcasting union, not on being in Europe — which is why countries well outside the continent have competed. Any question about who takes part in this contest is a question about a broadcasting organisation, not about a map.

The count changes almost every year, as the explanation notes: withdrawals for financial or political reasons, returns after absences, and occasional exclusions. A figure for one specific year is therefore a snapshot of an unusually volatile list, which is why this question names the year in the question itself rather than only in the source line.