Number of Emigrants in TurkStat Report Does Not Confirm Presidency

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Releasing a statement on Twitter on January 6, the Human Resources Office of the Presidency refuted the article "Spurning Erdoğan's Vision, Turks Leave in Droves, Draining Money and Talent", which was published on the US-based New York Times (NYT) newspaper on January 2.

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan penned an article for the newspaper two days later.

In its statement shared on Twitter, the Presidency indicated that the NYT referred to the emigration statistics previously announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). With this reference, the newspaper stated, "More than a quarter of a million Turks emigrated in 2017."

However, the Presidency refuted this figure: "When the data of the TurkStat are considered, it can be seen that the number of our citizens who emigrated from Turkey in 2017 is not 'more than a quarter of a million' as it has been alleged; on the contrary, it is 113 thousand and 326 people."

Though a link was given to the emigration statistics of the TurkStat in the statement of the Presidency, it was not clear which specific report or research was referred to.

The TurkStat report, on which the NYT based its article, is the one indicated below. Taking December 31, 2017 as its reference point, the Institute published its report on immigration and emigration in September 2018.

Here are some of the highlights from the report, which was announced by the TurkStat and published by the Presidency:

466 thousand 333 people immigrated to Turkey

The number of people who immigrated to Turkey in 2017 increased by 22.4 percent in comparison with 2016 and became 466 thousand and 333 people. While 52.3 percent of them were men, 47.7 percent were women.

253 thousand 640 people emigrated from Turkey

The number of people emigrated from Turkey in 2017 increased by 42.5 percent in comparison with the previous year, becoming 253 thousand 640 people. While 54 percent of them were men, 46 percent were women.

People between the ages of 25-29 emigrated the most

15.5 percent of the citizens of Turkey who emigrated from the country in 2017 were between the ages of 25 and 29, which marks the highest percentage in that regard. This age group was followed by the ones who were between the ages of 20-24 with 14.4 percent and by the ones who were between the ages of 30-34 with 12.3 percent.

When the number of people who emigrated from and immigrated to Turkey in 2017 is considered, it can be seen that İstanbul was the city with the highest number of emigration and immigration:

While 166 thousand 44 people immigrated to the city in 2017, 75 thousand 849 people left the city for other countries. (HK/SD)