The number of people choosing Turkey for relocation is growing every year. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) released a report on international migration for the last year. According to the published data, 677,042 foreigners moved to Turkey for permanent residence in 2019 (17.2 percent more than a year earlier). Nationals of foreign countries amounted to 578,488 people, while 98,554 people were Turkish citizens who returned to their homeland. The ratio of women to men among expats was unequal: 45.6 percent were women and 54.4 percent were men.
The expat leaders in 2019 are residents of Iraq (14.5 percent), Turkmenistan (13.8 percent), Afghanistan (8.2 percent), Syria (7.5 percent) and Iran (7.3 percent). According to statistics, a significant part of those moving to Turkey are young people: 20-24 years old - 12.2 percent of immigrants, 25-29 years old - 13.3 percent, 30-34 years old - 11.6 percent of expats.
Which cities in Turkey do expats choose? Most of foreigners who moved in 2019 went to Istanbul (45.3 percent), Ankara (9.2 percent), and Antalya (6.5 percent). There are also expats who chose Bursa (3.5 percent) and Izmir (2.2 percent).