List of countries in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Forty countries have participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since it started in 2003. Of these, ten have won the contest. The contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union, is held annually between the members of the Union. Broadcasters from different countries submit songs to the event, and cast votes to determine the most popular in the competition.
Participation in the contest is primarily open to all active member broadcasters of the EBU. To be an active member, broadcasters must be a member of the European Broadcasting Union, or be in a Council of Europe member country. Eligibility to participate is not determined by geographic inclusion within the continent of Europe, despite the "Euro" in "Eurovision" — nor does it have a direct connection with the European Union. Several countries geographically outside the boundaries of Europe have competed: Cyprus, Armenia and Israel, in Western Asia, since 2003, 2007 and 2012 respectively; and Australia making a debut in the 2015 contest. In addition, several transcontinental countries with only part of their territory in Europe have competed: Russia, since 2005; Georgia, since 2007; Azerbaijan, since 2012; and Kazakhstan, which made its first appearance in the 2018 edition. Australia, where the contest has been broadcast since 2003, debuted as a participant in the 2015 edition.
Both Belarus and the Netherlands entered the contest each year, whereas Switzerland have only entered on one occasion, in 2004. Three countries, Slovakia, Monaco and Bosnia and Herzegovina, have attempted to enter the contest but withdrew before making a debut.
Participants
The following table lists the countries that have participated in the contest at least once. Shading indicates countries that have withdrawn from the contest.Switzerland participated in the contest once, in 2004. France, who also took part that year, returned to the contest in 2018. Denmark, the host country of the first contest in 2003, has not been at the contest since 2005, along with Norway and the United Kingdom, who also participated in 2003. Poland withdrew after the 2004 contest, due to placing last in both 2003 and 2004, but returned in 2016. Croatia, the first winner of the contest, returned to the contest in 2014 after nine years out of the contest. However, the country placed last and withdrew again.
Serbia and Montenegro participated once in 2005, but dissolved in 2006. Serbia competed independently from the 2006 contest onwards. Montenegro made their debut as an independent nation in 2014.
The original Scandinavian broadcasters left the contest in 2006 because they found the treatment of the contestants unethical, and revived the MGP Nordic competition, which had not been produced since the Junior Eurovision Song Contest began. Sweden, however, returned to the contest the following year with a new broadcaster, TV4. TV4 did not participate in 2008, but returned in 2009. SVT returned to the contest in 2010, after TV4 withdrew earlier that year. Sweden's most recent participation was in 2014.
;Table key
| Country | Debut year | Latest entry | Entries | Wins | Broadcaster |
| 6 | 0 | RTSH | |||
| 13 | 1 | ARMTV | |||
| 5 | 0 | ||||
| 3 | 0 | İTV | |||
| 17 | 2 | BTRC | |||
| 10 | 0 | ||||
| 6 | 0 | BNT | |||
| 5 | 1 | HRT | |||
| 9 | 0 | CyBC | |||
| 3 | 0 | DR | |||
| 3 | 0 | France Télévisions | |||
| 13 | 3 | GPB | |||
| 6 | 0 | ERT | |||
| 5 | 0 | TG4 | |||
| 3 | 0 | ||||
| 6 | 1 | RAI | |||
| 2 | 0 | Khabar Agency | |||
| 5 | 0 | LTV | |||
| 4 | 0 | LRT | |||
| 15 | 2 | PBS | |||
| 4 | 0 | TRM | |||
| 2 | 0 | RTCG | |||
| 17 | 1 | ||||
| 15 | 0 | MKRTV | |||
| 3 | 0 | NRK | |||
| 6 | 2 | TVP | |||
| 5 | 0 | RTP | |||
| 7 | 0 | TVR | |||
| 15 | 2 | RTR | |||
| 3 | 0 | SMRTV | |||
| 11 | 0 | RTS | |||
| 1 | 0 | UJRT | |||
| 2 | 0 | RTVSLO | |||
| 5 | 1 | TVE | |||
| 11 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | 0 | SF DRS | |||
| 14 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 0 | ITV | |||
| 2 | 0 | S4C |
Other EBU members
The following list of countries are eligible to participate in the contest, but have never done so.Participating countries in the decades
The tables list the participating countries in each decade since the first Junior Eurovision Song Contest was held in 2003.Sixteen countries participated in the first contest. Since then, the number of entries has fluctuated, peaking at twenty in 2018 and dropping to a low of twelve in 2012 and 2013.
| Debutant | The country made its debut during the decade. | |
| 1 | Winner | The country won the contest. |
| 2 | Second place | The country was ranked second. |
| 3 | Third place | The country was ranked third. |
| X | Remaining places | The country placed from fourth to second last. |
| ◁ | Last place | The country was ranked last. |
| W | Disqualified or withdrawn | The country was to participate in the contest, but was disqualified or withdrew. |
| U | Undetermined | The country has confirmed participation for the next contest, however, the contest has yet to take place. |
| No entry | The country did not enter the contest. |
2000s
2010s
Unsuccessful attempts to participate
There have been a few unsuccessful attempts to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. For broadcasters to participate, they must be a member of the EBU and register their intention to compete before the deadline specified in the rules of that year's event. Each participating broadcaster pays a fee towards the organisation of the contest. Should a country withdraw from the contest after the deadline, they will still need to pay these fees, and may also incur a fine or temporary ban.Bosnia and Herzegovina
was one of the nineteen countries which applied to enter the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. As there was a maximum number of eighteen countries permitted to perform, Georgia, the nineteenth country to apply, was unable to participate. However, on 21 June 2007, it was announced that Bosnia and Herzegovina had withdrawn from the contest, enabling Georgia to enter the contest. Once again in 2008, Bosnia and Herzegovina applied to make its debut at the contest along with Azerbaijan and Israel, but all three countries withdrew before the contest took place.Prior to 2007, Bosnia and Herzegovina had broadcast the Junior Eurovision Song Contest once in 2006. The contest was also broadcast live in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2008 and 2009. In 2010 and 2011, BHRT organised a delayed broadcast of the contest.
Monaco
Monaco and Monegasque broadcaster TMC expressed an interest in participating in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005,, however, plans did not come to fruition due to scheduling problems and harsh citizenship laws and thus they did not participate. They had stated an interest again to take part in Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006, however at the end they did not take part in the contest.Slovakia
On 21 November 2002, Slovakia was drawn as one of the countries to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003, to be represented by Slovenská televízia. However, Slovakia later announced that they would withdraw from the contest.On 7 June 2019, according to Eurovision blog Eurofestivales, press spokesperson Erika Rusnáková for Slovak broadcaster Radio and Television of Slovakia stated that they were evaluating and supervising the possibility of debuting at the 2019 contest. However, on 10 June 2019, RTVS confirmed that they would not debut in the 2019 contest.