Syrians in Turkey

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Not to be confused with Assyrians in Turkey.

Ethnic group

Syrians in Turkey
Türkiye'deki Suriyeliler

Share of Syrians under Temporary Protection by province (as of May 30, 2024)

Total population
Officially ~3.5 million

Registered refugees in Temporary Protection Status: 3,114,099
(as of May 30, 2024)[1]
People with a residence permit: 77,295
(as of May 30, 2024)[2]

Turkish citizens of Syrian origin: 238,055
(as of December 2023)[3]

Regions with significant populations
Syrian population in descending order: Istanbul, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Hatay, Adana, Mersin, Bursa, İzmir, Konya, Ankara, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Kayseri, and Kilis
Languages
Syrian Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish, Syriac
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Islam, minorities of Shia Islam (Isma'ilism, Nusayris), Christians (Syriac Christianity, Eastern Catholic Churches) and Mandaeans.
Related ethnic groups
Arabs, Kurds, Syrian Turkmen, Armenians, Assyrians
Number of registered Syrian refugees by province (as of February 10, 2022)

Syrians in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye'deki Suriyeliler; Arabic: السوريون في تركيا, romanized: al-Sūriyyūn fī Turkiyā), includes Turkish citizens of Syrian origin, Syrian refugees, and other Syrian citizens resident in Turkey. As of January 2024, there are approximately 3,200,000 registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War in Turkey, which hosts the biggest refugee population in the whole world.[4][5] In addition, almost 80,000 Syrian nationals reside in Turkey with a residence permit.[6] Apart from Syrian refugees under temporary protection and Syrian citizens with a residence permit; 238,055 Syrian nationals acquired Turkish citizenship as of December 2023.[7]

Syrians are generally concentrated in the border provinces and major cities in Turkey, and only 1.3% of them live in refugee camps.[8] Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey, hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees, with more than 500,000 registered people.[9]

## Disputed population size

[edit]

Ümit Özdağ, chairman of Victory Party, alleged that number of Syrian population who gained Turkish citizenship is 1,476,368 as of July 2022.[10] He also claims number of Syrians in Turkey is about 5.3 million including unregistered ones.[11] In May 2023, during a visit to Victory Party headquarters, AKP deputy chairman Numan Kurtulmuş said that there are 4,994 million Syrians in Turkey.[12]

## History

[edit]

Syrians in Turkey include migrants from Syria to Turkey, as well as their descendants. The number of Syrians in Turkey is estimated at 4 million people as of August 2022,[13] and consists mainly of refugees of the Syrian Civil War.

In 2017, Syrian citizens accounted for 24% of all work permits granted to foreign nationals, making Syrians the largest single group of foreign nationals with work permits.[14]

Following the Turkish military intervention in the Afrin District in Northern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, some Turkish politicians have suggested that Syrian refugees in Turkey should be repatriated to Syria.[15]

According to news releases in 2019; there are 405,521 Syrians born in Turkey since 2011, 79,820 Syrians who got Turkish citizenship, approximately 329,000 Syrians who returned to Syria, 31,185 Syrians who have working permits, and 15,159 companies which have at least one Syrian company member.[16]

As of May 2023; 554,609 Syrian refugees have returned to Syria.[17]

## Discrimination and violence

[edit]

### Refugee "safe zones"

[edit]

In 2022 Turkey were criticized by Human Rights Watch for pressuring Syrians living in Turkey to move to Tel Abyad, a Turkish-occupied district of northern Syria.[18][19][20]

### 2024 violence

[edit]

In 2024 there were multiple incidents to mob violence against Syrian refugees in Turkey.[21]

## Ethnic groups

[edit]

Syrian Turkmen protest in Istanbul.

Syrians living in Turkey are formed of various ethnic and religious groups. The majority are Arabs (including Palestinians) while Syrian Kurds and Syrian Turkmen make up the significant minorities.[22] It is estimated by the UNHCR that more than 80% of the Syrian population in Turkey are ethnic Arabs, while 10-15% of them are ethnic Kurds and 10-15% of them are ethnic Turks (Syrian Turkmen). The same report indicates that 81%, 16.1% and 13.3% state their native languages as Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish, respectively. (More than one option was available.)[23]

### Arabs

[edit]

See also: Syrian Arabs

Turkey has the world's third-largest population of Syrian Arabs, after Syria and Brazil.[24][25][26][27]

### Kurds

[edit]

See also: Kurds in Syria

### Turkmen

[edit]

See also: Syrian Turkmen

By December 2016 the Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ümit Yalçın stated that Turkey opened its borders to 500,000 Syrian Turkmen.[28]

In 2020 the Voice of America reported that 1,000,000 Syrian Turkmen (including descendants) who are living in Turkey are requesting to become Turkish citizens.[29]

### Assyrians

[edit]

See also: Assyrians in Syria

Some Assyrians who have fled from ISIL have found temporary homes in the city of Midyat. A refugee center is located near Midyat, but due to there being a small Assyrian community in Midyat, many of the Assyrian refugees at the camp went to Midyat hoping for better conditions than what the refugee camp had. To their supine,[clarification needed] many refugees were in fact given help and accommodations by the local Assyrian community there, perhaps wishing that the refugees stay, as the community in Midyat is in need of more members.[30]

### Circassians

[edit]

See also: Circassians in Syria

## Social status

[edit]

### Education

[edit]

As of 2021[update] there are 1.7 million Syrian refugee children in the country, and since 2017 the government has committed to integrating them into the national school system.[31]

### Economics

[edit]

As of 2019[update] the trade minister said there were almost 14,000 Syrian owned businesses, which was almost 30% of the total number of foreign owned businesses, with a capital of 4 billion Turkish liras ($480 million).[32] About 40% of businesses are estimated to be jointly owned with Turks or other nationals.[32]

## See also

[edit]

* Arabs in Turkey
* Syrian Turkmen
* Syrians in Jordan
* Syrians in Lebanon
* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "GEÇİCİ KORUMA". www.goc.gov.tr.
2. ^ "İKAMET İZİNLERİ". www.goc.gov.tr.
3. ^ "Bakan Yerlikaya: 238 bin 55 Suriyeli vatandaşlık aldı". BBC News Türkçe.
4. ^ "Situation Syria Regional Refugee Response". data2.unhcr.org. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
5. ^ "Ülkesine dönen ve Türkiye'de kayıt altına alınan Suriyelilerin sayısı açıklandı". birgun.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-08-12.
6. ^ "İKAMET İZİNLERİ". www.goc.gov.tr. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
7. ^ "Bakan Yerlikaya: 238 bin 55 Suriyeli vatandaşlık aldı". www.icisleri.gov.tr.
8. ^ "GEÇİCİ KORUMA". www.goc.gov.tr. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
9. ^ Aydınlık (2022-07-27). "İstanbul'daki sığınmacı sayısı açıklandı!". www.aydinlik.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-08-12.
10. ^ Türkiye'de vatandaşlık alan Suriyelilerin gerçek rakamlarını açıklıyorum., retrieved 2022-08-20
11. ^ "Türkiye'de kayıtlı ve kayıtsız toplam 5.3 Milyon Suriyeli var. Türk milletine soruyorum; 5.3 Milyon Suriyeli için ne yapılmasını istiyorsunuz?". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
12. ^ "Numan Kurtulmuş ve Ümit Özdağ arasında Suriyeliler anlaşmazlığı" (in Turkish). 22 May 2023.
13. ^ "T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı". www.goc.gov.tr. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
14. ^ "Turkey handed work permits to more than 87,000 foreigners in 2017". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
15. ^ "Syrian refugees in Turkey face calls to return as public mood changes". IRIN. 2018-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
16. ^ Doğanışık, İrem. "Türkiye'de Suriyeli Sığınmacılar". www.dogrulukpayi.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
17. ^ "İsmail Çataklı açıkladı: Ülkesine dönen Suriyeli sayısı belli oldu". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-10-13.
18. ^ English https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone
19. ^ Turkish https://www.hrw.org/tr/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone
20. ^ Arabic https://www.hrw.org/ar/news/2024/03/28/syrians-face-dire-conditions-turkish-occupied-safe-zone
21. ^ https://www.newarab.com/news/syrians-fear-violence-turkey-teenager-leaks-personal-data
22. ^ Wahby, Sarah; Ahmadzadeh, Hashem; Çorabatır, Metin; Hashem, Leen; Al Husseini, Jalal (2014), Ensuring quality education for you refugees from Syria (12-25 year): a mapping exercise, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
23. ^ "Barometer of Syrians 2019" (PDF). UNHCR. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-13. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
24. ^ "Syria Population 2023 (Live)". World Population Review. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
25. ^ "Syrian Arabic Republic". www.itamaraty.gov.br. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
26. ^ "UNHCR Turkey: Operational Update – February / March 2021". Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
27. ^ (UNHCR), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response". unhcr.org. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
28. ^ Ünal, Ali (2016). "Turkey stands united with Turkmens, says Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Yalçın". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 11 September 2018. "Yalçın explained how Turkey opened its borders to 100,000 Turkmens from Iraq and 500,000 from Syria, sharing their pain and trying to mend their wounds as much as they could with economic, social and humanitarian aid."
29. ^ Erkılıç, Orhan (2020). "Türkiye'deki Suriyeli Türkmenler de Vatandaşlık İstiyor". Voice of America. Retrieved 17 December 2020. "1 Milyon Suriyeli Türkmen Vatandaşlık Hakkından Yararlanmak İstiyor."
30. ^ "Middle Eastern Christians Flee Violence for Ancient Homeland". National Geographic. 29 December 2014. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
31. ^ "Inclusion of Syrian refugee children into the national education system (Turkey)". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
32. ^ a b "How Syrian refugees contributed to Turkish economy - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. Retrieved 2021-07-29.

## External links

[edit]

* Syrian diaspora at Flickr Commons

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