7.5 million Turkish citizens live abroad: Ministry

ANKARA

Approximately 7.5 million Turkish citizens reside in foreign countries, with the majority of them, amounting to 6.5 million, living in Western European countries, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has disclosed.

Providing information about the lives of Turkish expatriates, Deputy Foreign Minister Yasin Ekrem Serim stated that as of April, 2,427 individuals of Turkish origin are engaged in politics across European countries, with two holding ministerial positions.

“There are two ministers and two secretaries of state at the government level, seven members of the European Parliament, 69 at the national and federal level, 102 at the state and regional level, and 2,245 members of Turkish origin in municipal councils,” Serim specified.

Consular services spanning over 70 categories, including matters pertaining to birth, military service, marriage, legal affairs, death and population, are provided to Turkish citizens abroad, he said.

In 2023, the number of consular services rendered at Turkish foreign missions reached 3.3 million, and since the beginning of the year, close to 1 million transactions have been processed.

The highest volume of consular services is delivered in Europe, with Germany alone conducting 272,729 transactions in April.

During the COVID-19 era, over 100,000 Turkish citizens were facilitated in their return to Türkiye from 142 countries. Furthermore, more than 18,000 foreigners from 67 nations were allowed to participate in evacuation flights to Türkiye.

Remarkably, evacuation efforts were undertaken for over 50,000 individuals from regions experiencing “extraordinary developments,” including Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Sudan, and most recently, the war-torn Gaza Strip.