Turkey

“Migration in Turkey: A Country Profile 2008” is part of a series of migration profiles produced by IOM Budapest within the “Black Sea Consultative Process on Migration Management” project, funded from IOM’s 1035 Facility. Traditionally, Turkey has been a country of emigration with large numbers of its citizens migrating to Western Europe, particularly Germany since the 1970s. As a result of emigration, remittance flows have been an important input to the country’s economy since the 1960s. Turkey also has a sizeable refugee population abroad as well as an internally displaced population while also positioned the transit route for irregular migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan. Turkey has also long been a country of destination for migrants, either economic migrants or refugees or asylum seekers. It has recently emerged as a destination for migrants from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.