President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced that Turkey is currently home to 4.03 million migrants, including 2.76 million Syrians under temporary protection status, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.
Erdoğan spoke at an event on Turkey’s migration management in Ankara on Monday amid ongoing debates on the refugee issue, with Turkey hosting one of the largest displaced populations in the world.
According to the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) World Migration Report 2024, Turkey remained the world’s largest host of displaced people for the seventh consecutive year, primarily Syrians fleeing the civil war.
In his speech the president drew attention to the significant number of Syrians returning home since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December. He said that 200,000 Syrians had returned since December 9, with the total number reaching over 900,000 when including other countries. The president attributed the trend to ongoing government efforts and improving conditions in the region.
Türkiye Yüzyılı’nda Türkiye’nin Göç Yönetimi Modeli Programı’nın hayırlara vesile olmasını diliyorum.
Panele iştirak eden tüm bürokratlarımıza, akademisyenlerimize ve alanında uzman isimlere katkılarından dolayı teşekkür ediyorum. pic.twitter.com/t5Ak8W7hvn
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) April 28, 2025
He said that globally, there are over 281 million migrants, with 120 million refugees, while criticizing Western countries for failing in migration management “despite being the ones to cause it.”
Erdoğan said 75 percent of the world’s refugees are hosted by low-income countries rather than wealthier nations. “Countries with limited resources bear a much larger burden, while wealthy countries take in 100-200 refugees and use this as a form of publicity,” he said.
While Erdoğan’s comments are part of Turkey’s ongoing efforts to manage migration, the country’s internal policies continue to raise concerns among human rights groups about the treatment of refugees, particularly regarding reports of forced returns and violence in detention centers.
A recent report by Syrians for Truth & Justice (STJ), based on firsthand testimonies from 19 former detainees held in centers across Turkey in 2024, documented widespread violence, including beatings and deprivation of basic necessities. The report revealed that Syrian refugees in Turkish detention centers faced physical abuse and were allegedly coerced into signing “voluntary” return documents.
Turkey has granted legal status to approximately 3.5 million Syrian nationals who fled the civil war in Syria that began in 2011. Initially welcomed under a temporary protection policy, many Syrians settled in Turkish cities, sparking debates about integration, economic strain and cultural differences.