Internal migration

Istanbul recorded the highest domestic migration rate in Türkiye in 2023, with over 581,000 residents leaving the city, according to the report shared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

Istanbul's migration rate, the highest in the city since 2019, reflects a growing trend of citizens seeking better housing and living conditions, experts say.

Conflict in Sudan and Gaza pushed the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) worldwide to a record 75.9 million at the end of 2023, an NGO monitor said Tuesday.

Experts have warned about a potential cultural identity loss stemming from the surge in migration from rural to urban areas in the eastern Black Sea region, which is leaving villages increasingly deserted and aging.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) unveiled the internal migration figures for the year 2022, revealing that a staggering 2.7 million citizens migrated between provinces within the country.

The annual migration rate, which has exhibited a fluctuating trajectory over the years, reached 3.27 percent in 2022, up from 3.18 percent during the 2007-2008 period.

Conflict and disaster forced more than 33 million people to flee within their own countries last year, putting them at greater risk amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, monitors said on April 28.    

Dacic underlined Serbia "strong support to the untiring work of the UNHCR" and said the international community must "redouble its efforts to promote human rights and demonstrate solidarity without prejudice and selectivity, with the aim of harmonizing different views and addressing the causes and effects of the (migrant) crisis."

Bulgaria will made voluntary contributions to the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF amounting to a total of EUR 150 000.

The humanitarian aid will be used to provide food for refugees in the countries neighbouring Syria and improve access to education of Syrian children, the government's press service informs.

A city official in charge of refugees, IDPs and migrations has said that more than 530,000 migrants have passed through Belgrade to date.

According to Dusica Popovic, beside these migrants coming from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, there are also 59,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently in the Serbian capital, as well as 9,000 refugees from Bosnia and Croatia.

Internal migration made Turkey. Families packing up and leaving their hometowns was one of the major building blocks of our growth model. But no more, according to the new World Bank report on Turkey’s transitions. Turkey is now reaching its limits regarding urbanization via internal migration.