Turkey witnessed remarkable surge in emigrations in 2022, shows TurkStat data

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Turkey's emigration rates have experienced a 62.3% increase in 2022 compared to the previous year, as revealed by the latest international migration statistics published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Among the 466,914 individuals who emigrated from Turkey last year, 55.7 percent were men and 44.3 percent were women, according to the figures. The report also indicated that 139,531 of those leaving the country were citizens of Turkey, while 327,383 were foreign nationals.

The 25-29 age group once again topped the list of emigrants, comprising 15.8% of the total. The 30-34 age group followed with 13.4%, and the 20-24 age group accounted for 12.8% of the emigrants.

İstanbul, the largest city of the country, emerged as the primary source of emigrations, contributing 39.5% of the total emigrants. Ankara followed with 9.8%, Antalya with 6.7%, Samsun with 3.4%, and İzmir with 3%.

Regarding the foreign nationals emigrating from Turkey, Iraqis held the top position, representing 20% of the total. Iranians followed with 10.6%, Uzbeks with 7%, Afghans with 6%, and Turkmenistanis with 4.8%.

Immigration

According to the report, there was a significant decline in the number of individuals immigrating to Turkey in 2022, with a staggering 33.2% decrease compared to the previous year. The total number of newcomers stood at 494,052.

Gender-wise, men accounted for 52.9% of the immigrants, while women constituted 47.1%. Out of those who migrated to Turkey, 94,409 were citizens of Turkey, and 399,643 were foreign nationals.

Analyzing the data based on age groups, the highest percentage of immigrants to Turkey belonged to the 25-29 age group, accounting for 12.2%. Following closely, the 20-24 age group constituted 11.7%, and the 30-34 age group represented 11.3% of the newcomers.

The distribution of immigrants across Turkish provinces in 2022 showed that İstanbul was the most favored destination, receiving 35.4% of the total immigrants. Antalya followed closely with 14.8%, while Ankara received 5.4%, Bursa 3.9%, and Mersin 3.8%.

Among the foreign nationals immigrating to Turkey in 2022, Russian citizens constituted the largest group, accounting for 25%. Ukraine followed with 8.1%, Iran with 6.5%, Afghanistan with 5.4%, and Iraq with 4.8%.