03.04.2025 10:00
This year in Turkey, 29,028 irregular migrants were apprehended, and since 2020, a total of 1,079,192 irregular migrants have been caught. Afghanistan was the country that sent the most irregular migrants to Turkey.
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According to the Ministry of Interior data; the number of irregular migrants caught in Turkey was 122,302 in 2020, 162,996 in 2021, 285,027 in 2022, 254,008 in 2023, and 225,831 in 2024. In the last 5 years, the largest group of migrants caught was Afghan nationals, followed by Syrians.
MOSTLY AFGHANS
This year, 16,060 irregular migrants were caught by security forces in January, 10,058 in February, and 4,400 as of March 13. The largest group of migrants caught this year consisted of nationals from Afghanistan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Morocco, Iran, Algeria, and Azerbaijan.
2,169 SMUGGLERS
Since 2020, the number of smugglers caught in the fight against human smuggling has increased. In 2020, 4,358 were caught, 7,942 in 2021, 9,149 in 2022, 10,482 in 2023, and 13,020 in 2024, with 2,169 smugglers caught as of March 13 this year.
NUMBER OF FOREIGNERS IN TURKEY
The number of foreigners residing in Turkey with a residence permit reached 1,076,643 as of March 13. Among them, there are 120,301 from Turkmenistan, 84,085 from Azerbaijan, 81,635 from Russia, 76,601 from Iran, 73,178 from Syria, 68,341 from Iraq, 58,208 from Uzbekistan, 43,934 from Kazakhstan, 36,897 from Afghanistan, and 32,785 from Ukraine. The number of Syrians under temporary protection has been recorded as 2,810,977.
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