Syrian population in Turkey to exceed 5 million after 10 years: Study

ANKARA

According to research conducted by Hacettepe University’s Migration and Politics Research Center, the population of Syrians in Turkey will exceed five million within the next 10 years, daily Birgün reported on Jan. 23.

The study, titled “A Framework for Achieving Social Cohesion with Syrians in Turkey,” said Syrians in Turkey currently make up 4.5 percent of the country’s population.

It added that an average of 306 Syrian babies are currently born in Turkey every day.

According to data from the Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Migration Administration, 295,000 Syrian babies were born in Turkey up to November 2017.

The Haceteppe University study finds that the Syrian population in Turkey will exceed five million in the next 10 years, based on projections from current population trends.

Professor Murat Erdoğan, who headed the research, noted that refugees from many countries, not only Syria, had taken refuge in Turkey over the last six years.

The process of registering refugees in Turkey is continuing, he said, noting that up to 1,500 refugees are officially registered in Turkey every day.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Jan. 23 said on his social media account that Turkey currently hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees. “We tirelessly continue to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Syria, with my country hosting 3.5 million Syrian guests. We provide shelter for 235,000 people in 21 refugee camps,” he tweeted.

He also said Turkey had established two camps to host civilians fleeing violence in the Syrian province of Idlib prior to the operation against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

“We are now building 500 tents to host more than 3,000 civilians in Azez. We accommodate the basic needs of civilians in these camps. We are always with those who need our support,” he tweeted.