Participation
Further information: List of countries in the Junior Eurovision Song ContestOnly active member broadcasters of the EBU are permitted to take part and vote in the contest, though the contest has been screened in several non-participating countries.
Participation in the contest tends to change dramatically each year. 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. Out of the twenty-eight countries that have participated at least once, three have been represented by an act at every contest as of 2012.
Listed are all the countries that have ever taken part in the competition alongside the year in which they made their debut:
| Year | Debuting countries |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom |
| 2004 | France, Switzerland |
| 2005 | Russia, Serbia and Montenegro |
| 2006 | Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine |
| 2007 | Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Lithuania |
| 2010 | Moldova |
| 2012 | Albania, Azerbaijan, Israel |
| Year | Withdrawing countries |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Cyprus, France, Poland, Switzerland |
| 2006 | Denmark, Latvia, Serbia and Montenegro, Norway, United Kingdom |
| 2007 | Croatia, Spain |
| 2008 | Portugal, Sweden |
| 2009 | Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania |
| 2010 | Cyprus, Romania |
| 2011 | Malta, Serbia |
| 2012 | Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia |
| Year | Returning countries |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Cyprus |
| 2009 | Sweden |
| 2010 | Latvia, Lithuania |
| 2011 | Bulgaria |
Read more about this topic: Junior Eurovision Song Contest