Turkish Migration in Europe and Desire to Migrate to and from Turkey
Turkish Migration in Europe and Desire to Migrate to and from Turkey

Author(s): Ibrahim Sirkeci, Neli Esipova
Subject(s): Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Turkish Migration; Europe; Desire to Migrate; Turkey; migration;
Summary/Abstract: According to the Gallup World Poll, nearly 630 million (14%) people desire to move to another country while only about 7.6 per cent of world’s adult population are planning to move within a year and only about 3 per cent are already preparing–i.e. applying for visas and booking tickets (Esipova et al., 2011). This last figure is more or less corresponding to the estimated total number of migrants in the World–i.e. around 214 million (3.1%) by 2010 (UN DESA, 2009). About one third (69.8million) of these migrants are estimated to be in Europe: 1.4 million in Turkey, 6.4million in Spain, 6.5 million in the UK, 10.8 million in Germany, and 12.3 million in Russian Federation. Nearly half of the worlds’ migrants are based in less developed countries and least developed countries - about 98 million. Nevertheless, a high percentage of immigrants in the total population of Europe is a fact, while trends and directions in the near future are unknown. While a reasonable increase in mobility for Turkish citizens within the EU countries is expected, Far Right claims about ‘75 million Turks roaming around the EU are unrealistic. Turkey’s role as a country of origin for one the largest minority populations in Europe, as a transit country, and as a destination country are of concern to academics, practitioners, and policy makers.

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