Iraqis top list of foreigners leaving Turkiye in 2025

Shafaq News- Ankara

Iraqi nationals topped the list of foreign citizens leaving Turkiye in 2025, with immigration rising sharply and overall emigration falling.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, 393,829 people immigrated to Turkiye in the same year, up 25.2% from the previous year. Of those, 301,877 were foreign nationals, and 91,952 were Turkish citizens.

The number of people leaving Turkiye fell 5% to 403,216, including 248,097 foreign nationals and 155,119 Turkish citizens.

Iraqis accounted for 15.7% of all foreign nationals departing Turkiye, followed by Afghans (11.2%), Russians (7.6%), Iranians (6.3%), and Turkmen nationals (5.7%).

Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi stated that more than 1.434 million Syrians have voluntarily returned to Syria since 2016, including 578,000 since the fall of the former Syrian government on Dec. 8, 2024, while more than two million Syrians remain under temporary protection in the country.

Among new arrivals, Turkmen nationals made up the largest share of foreign immigrants (23.4%), ahead of Azerbaijanis (8.3%), Uzbeks (6.9%), Egyptians (6.1%), and Afghans (5.8%).