Nearly 480,000 people relocated between Turkish cities for educational purposes in the past year, totaling over 2.4 million in the past five years.
According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA), 479,622 people relocated within Türkiye last year due to educational reasons. Over the past five years, the total number of people who migrated between cities for education reached 2,405,792.
Following the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS), students and their families begin researching university options. Cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, known for their established and large universities, host hundreds of thousands of these students. This migration to university or other educational institutions is defined as “education-related migration.”
Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) figures indicate that in the last year, 479,622 individuals changed their residence for educational purposes. The numbers were 512,011 in 2023, 526,008 in 2022 and 686,973 in 2021. In 2020, this figure was 201,178.
Thus, over the last five years, 2,405,792 people migrated across cities in Türkiye for educational purposes.
Istanbul was the province that received the highest number of migrants for education last year, welcoming 48,636 people. Ankara hosted 32,839 students during the same period, followed by Izmir with 19,113, Konya with 13,786 and Antalya with 11,279.
Ardahan recorded the lowest number of incoming students due to education, with 1,276.
Istanbul was also the city that sent out the most students for education, with 38,882 people leaving the city last year. Ankara followed with 26,643, Bursa with 16,837, Izmir with 16,473 and Konya with 13,469.
Tunceli was the province with the fewest students migrating out for education purposes, with 1,077 people departing.
