Türkiye has been the destination of those seeking to escape economic and political crises and social conflicts in their countries. In the past 20 years, the country has intercepted 2.6 million irregular migrants.
Situated at the intersection of Asia, Europe and Africa, the country has been a transit route for irregular migrants due to its role as a bridge between wealthy Western countries and underdeveloped countries with political and economic instabilities. This “transit” role, however, changed into a final destination in recent years as Türkiye grew into a rising power in the international community, especially for refugees from the Middle East.
Türkiye has been a migration destination, especially in the 1980s, and currently hosts more than 4.4 million residents of foreign origin. It also hosts more than 3.1 million Syrians under temporary protection, while another 228,290 people stay in the country under the status of international protection. The latest figures show it hosts more than 1.1 million people with residence permits.
Irregular migration, however, escalated as undocumented migrants, those arriving under the condition of limited stays, illegally outstaying are growing in numbers.
As of July 11, Türkiye has intercepted 113,473 irregular migrants since Jan. 1. Figures from the Directorate of Migration show the number of intercepted irregular migrants was 57,428 in 2005; whereas, this number was 254,008 in 2023.
The number of intercepted irregular migrants increased particularly after 2014 when interceptions were 58,647. It rose to 146,485 the following year and peaked in 2019 at 454,662.
Though the number varies over the years, Afghans and Syrians make up the bulk of intercepted irregular migrants. Between 2014 and 2017, Syrians top the list of intercepted migrants ahead of Afghan nationals. Afghan migrants replaced them in the first place after 2018. Between January 2014 and July 11 of this year, 766,587 Afghan irregular migrants were intercepted while this number was 476,574 for Syrians.
Afghans topped the list again this year so far, ahead of Syrian migrants. Palestinian migrants and migrants from Turkmenistan, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Sudan follow them.
Turkish security forces also grapple with a rising number of migrant smugglers. This year, they captured 6,601 smugglers. Since 2011, a total of 72,321 smugglers were captured.
