Türkiye

Situated at the strategic crossroads of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Türkiye is a country of emigration, immigration, and transit. The country’s population reached 85,664,944 in 2024, with young people aged 15-24 accounting for 14.9%. Population growth remains driven primarily by natural increase, with net migration remaining negative since 2015, reflecting a long-term trend of emigration, especially among working-age and skilled groups.

By the end of 2024, Türkiye continued to face financial and economic challenges, with inflation at 44% and a 38.5% increase in the food price index. High living costs and currency instability have driven emigration, particularly among youth population. Over 12.2% of emigrants were aged 20-25, many working in IT, engineering, academia, and health care. Social and political factors, including the 2021 university protests, have further driven the outflow of youth and academics seeking a better quality of life. 3,025 doctors in 2023 and 2,692 doctors in 2024 obtained the required documentation to work abroad – though only about one-third actually left.

Large-scale labour emigration from Türkiye in the 1960-1970s forged strong ties with Europe and created a sizeable Turkish diaspora of around 7 million people. According to UN DESA 2024, Germany hosts the largest Turkish community (1,504,743), followed by France (260,167), the Netherlands (217,388), Austria (161,487), the United Kingdom (145,391) and Belgium (110,089). While most Turkish migrants in Europe work in manufacturing, construction, and services, a gradual shift toward higher-skilled sectors – such as academia, engineering, IT, and finance – is increasingly visible among both new migrants and later-generation diaspora members.    

In 2024, 424,345 people left the country, 40.6% fewer than in 2023. Of these, 36% were Turkish nationals and 64% foreigners. Among foreign nationals, Iraqis accounted for the largest share  (17.4%), followed by Afghans (13.1%), Russians (10.2%), Iranians (5.9%), and Turkmens (5.8%). Notably, the largest emigration population was in the 20-29 age groups.

By 2024, Turkish nationals held nearly two million valid residence permits in the EU, with most issued by Germany (66%), France (12%), the Netherlands (6%) and Austria (5%). The main reasons were family (36%), employment (5%), education (2%) and other reasons. Employment-related permits almost doubled from 58,917 in 2021 to 107,639 in 2024, largely issued by Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Education-related equally increased from 24,281 in 2021 to 41,319 in 2024, with most Turkish students in Germany, France and Italy.

The number of first residence permits issued to Turkish citizens in the EU grew steadily from 61,979 permits in 2020 to 111,515 permits in 2024. In 2024, the majority were issued for family reasons (39,462), employment (28,227) and education (18,385). Germany, the Netherlands and France issued most family permits, while Germany, Poland and Romania led in employment-related permits.

In 2023, a record 100,809 international protection applications from Turkish nationals were lodged in the EU, with the recognition rate reaching 25%. In 2024, applications declined to 55,705, and the recognition rate fell to 17%. Most applications were filed in Germany (29,979), followed by France (8,858), Greece (4,276), Switzerland (4,107), and Belgium (2,233).

When it comes to irregular migration, the EU registered 11,258 Turkish nationals crossing EU border irregularly in 2023, and 8,956 in 2024. The number of Turkish nationals found to be illegally present in the EU also declined from 83,495 recorded in 2023 to 57,805 in 2024 (preliminary data), with most apprehended in Germany, Croatia and Slovenia. Orders to leave, on the contrary, increased from 21,055 in 2023 to 25,565 in 2024. Moreover, the number of Turkish nationals refused entry at the border doubled in the last four years and amounted to 6,760 in 2024 in the past decade.

According to UN DESA 2024, Türkiye’s immigration stock stood at 7,083,501, with most migrants o originating from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia. In 2024, the immigration flow to Türkiye totalled 314,588 individuals, a figure similar to the previous year. Of these, 103,732 were Turkish citizens and 201,856 foreign nationals. Among foreign immigrants, Azerbaijani citizens ranked first (9.9%), followed by Turkmen (9.8%), Uzbeks (7.6%), Russians (7.5%), and Iranians (5.9%). Türkiye also hosted around 340,000 international students pursuing higher education, mainly from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, the US, and China. In 2024, the country issued 1,056,632 residence permits, up from 886,653 in 2020. By September 2025, this figure had reached 1,104,430. The largest recipient groups were Turkmen (140,348), Azerbaijanis (89,785), Russians (78,748), Syrians (75,343), and Iranians (71,401).

In 2024, Türkiye issued 300,852 work permits to foreign nationals, over one third of which were issued to Syrians, around 11% to Turkmens, above 5 % each to Russians and Uzbeks, and around 3.5% each to Kyrgyz and Iranians. Most work permits were issued for employment in service sector, particularly accommodation, food and beverage, construction, domestic work, textiles, manufacturing and trade. In addition, 11,912 foreigners were exempted from work permits, and 120,284 work permit exemption forms were issued for seasonal agricultural and livestock work, mostly benefitting Syrians under temporary protection and other humanitarian categories.

Türkiye continues to host one of the world’s largest refugee populations, owing to its proximity to regional crises. As of September 2025, 2,491,283 Syrians remained under temporary protection. By the end of 2024, Türkiye had received 9,009 applications for international protection, and UNHCR, reported 194,637 refugees and asylum seekers – mainly from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran – under international protection in mid-2024.

Given the protracted nature of displacement, Türkiye has implemented measures to foster self-reliance and socio-economic inclusion of displaced persons. By mid-2024, 238,768 Syrian nationals had been granted Turkish citizenship. Between 2016 and 2025, 72,538 Syrians were resettled from Türkiye to third countries, with Germany receiving 19,500 individuals. Beyond the EU, Syrians were resettled also occurred to the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Moreover, 763,443 Syrians voluntarily returned to Syria between 2017 and 2024, averaging 12,313 per year. Between early December 2024 and early September 2025, additional 474,018 Syrians returned to their home country, bringing the total to 1,213,620 voluntary returns since 2016.

Irregular migration remains a major challenge in Türkiye. In 2024, authorities apprehended 225,831 irregular migrants, down from 254,008 in 2023. The majority originated from Afghanistan (33,099), Syria (17,077), Uzbekistan (10,487), Palestine (10,285) and Turkmenistan (8,381), reflecting the predominance of Asian and Middle Eastern nationals in irregular flows. In addition, 13,020 migrant smugglers were apprehended in 2024, and 7,062 apprehensions recorded by September 2025, underscoring the persistence organized migration-related crime.

In response to the war in Ukraine, Türkiye granted visa-free entry to Ukrainian citizens. Since February 2022, around 560,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Türkiye, many of whom later departed to third countries or returned home, while only 7,131 filed international protection applications that year. As of April 2023, around 46,000 Ukrainians resided in Türkiye.  

Türkiye was confronted with the devastating impact of two major earthquakes in early 2023, affecting ten provinces in the eastern and southeastern regions. The affected areas hosted 1,738,051 foreigners, mostly Syrians under temporary protection, alongside a local population of 14 million. The earthquakes caused large-scale displacement, impacting host communities and migrant groups.

Over the past decade, Türkiye has made significant efforts in strengthening its migration governance  framework. In 2013, the country adopted the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which led to the establishment of the Directorate General of Migration Management as the national migration authority, later upgraded to the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM) in 2022, granting it higher institutional status. In late 2023, PMM also assumed responsibility for border management, further consolidating its role in migration governance.

Since 2021, Türkiye has significantly invested in border infrastructure and related border technologies. As part of these efforts, the country introduced Mobile Migration Points to identify irregular migrants. As of July 2025, 375 Mobile Migration Points had detected 213,848 irregular migrants nationwide. The country also has adopted a strategy document and national action plan on irregular migration (NAP) covering 2021-2025 and finalised the National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings for the period 2025 -2030. In 2022, it also operationalised  National Assisted Voluntary Return Mechanism to facilitate return of foreigners, excluding Syrians under temporary protection.

Türkiye was one of the five co-conveners of the Global Refugee Forum and endorsed the Global Compact on Refugees with a specific focus on international responsibility-sharing. The country is the party to the Prague Process and the Chair of the Budapest Process.