ReliefWeb

Background and Latest Figures

According to the latest available figures from the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), there are more than 5* million foreign nationals present in Turkish territory, 3.7* million of whom are seeking international protection. Most are Syrians (3,736,799* individuals) who are granted temporary protection status. In addition, international protection applicants from countries including Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq constitute another group of foreign nationals. According to DGMM, there were 31,334* international protection applicants present in Turkey in 20201, published annually. Moreover, according to UNHCR**, there are close to 330,000 international protection status holders and asylum-seekers. The number of foreign nationals has increased by 70,346 in comparison to December 2020 (3.6 million foreign nationals).

In addition, there are 1,311,633* foreign nationals present in Turkey holding residency permits, including humanitarian residency holders. Compared to December 2020, this is an increase of 424,980 individuals. The exact number of humanitarian residency holders is unknown, but it is estimated that there are more than several thousand humanitarian residency permit holders.