Turkey, Its Neighbors and the West - Robert Bosch Stiftung

as shown in Table 2, about 3.4 million people with Turkish
background live outside Turkey today, an increase of about 1
million people since 1985. While the total has not changed
much since the mid-1990s, the geographical distribution
has. In the mid-1990s, about 86 percent of Turkish migrants
abroad lived in europe. Today this share has declined to about
80 percent. Turkish citizens have emigrated increasingly to
the former soviet republics or to the Middle east. flows to
these two destinations, however, remain relatively small (2.2
percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, of all Turkish migrants
abroad in 2008).
The change in incoming flows has been more dramatic.
The number of foreigners arriving in Turkey has more than
doubled in recent years, from about 10.4 million in 2000
to 25.6 million in 2009. During this period, more than 182
million foreign nationals entered Turkey, double its current
population. a breakdown of foreigners entering Turkey (see
figure 1) shows that most still come from eu member states.
however, entries from neighboring countries, especially
from the former soviet republics, has steadily increased.
In contrast to Western european entrants coming for visits
or tourism, these people often come to Turkey to engage in
“suitcase trade,” pursue seasonal labor, or gain employment
in private households. Tourism has started to play a greater
role with respect to entries from russia. With the exception of
Iran, the number of entries from the Middle east have been
relatively low, but rising steadily.
To these impressive numbers of people entering Turkey
temporarily for leisure, business or work, one should add
the approximately 250,000 people who enter Turkey each
year with the intention of staying longer, be it for education,
employment, or retirement. 3 There are also a growing number
of nationals from the neighborhood who enter Turkey legally
but then overstay their visa and work illegally. In addition,
Turkey has also become a country of transit migration toward
Western europe. While it is difficult to estimate their true
numbers, the Turkish government apprehended approximately
700,000 illegal migrants between 1998 and 2008. asylum
seekers, mainly from Iran, Iraq, and afghanistan, are also
entering Turkey: almost 60,000 between 1995 and 2008.
These changes in the number, type, direction, and motivation
of people entering and exiting Turkey have also had a marked
impact on relations with its neighbors.
C H A P T E R2
11