More than 700,000 Turks and foreign nationals left Turkey last year, an increase of 53 percent compared to 2022, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday, citing the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
According to TurkStat, 55.2 percent of the 714,579 people who moved from Turkey to other countries in 2023 were men, while 44.8 percent were women. A total of 291,377 were Turkish citizens and 423,202 were foreigners.
Of those who left Turkey last year, 15 percent were in the 25-29 age group, followed by those in the 30-34 age group (12.9 percent) and the 20-24 age group (12.5 percent).
TurkStat data further showed that a total of 316,456 people moved to Turkey in 2023, down 35.9 percent from a year earlier. The group included 101,677 Turkish citizens and 214,779 foreigners.
While 12.7 percent of those who moved to Turkey last year were in the 20-24 age group, 10.8 percent were in the 25-29 age group and 10.3 percent were in the 15-19 age group.
Turkey’s business hub of İstanbul was the city that attracted and lost the largest number of people in 2023, 29.2 percent and 36.4 percent of the total, respectively, according to TurkStat, with Russians the largest group among those who moved to (13.2 percent) and from (17 percent) Turkey last year.
More and more people Turkey leave Turkey either to avoid political persecution or for a better and safer life elsewhere due to the economic and social ills of the country.
Last year, Turkish citizens were the second largest group after Syrians seeking asylum in Germany, with 62,624 people lodging applications, according to data from the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
Since a failed coup in 2016 that led to a widespread crackdown on dissent by the Turkish government, the number of Turkish nationals seeking asylum in Germany and other Western European countries has seen a significant increase.
An ongoing economic crisis in the country caused by skyrocketing inflation, which stands at close to 72 percent, and the constant depreciation of the Turkish lira are also prompting some Turks to seek ways to leave the country for a better life in Europe, US or Canada.