Over 100,000 irregular migrants deported in 11 months

ANKARA 

The number of irregular migrants deported from Türkiye since the new year has exceeded 100,000, according to the Directorate General of Migration Management.

Türkiye has deported 101,574 irregular migrants since the beginning of the year as the number of deportations increased by 152 percent compared to the same period of 2021.

The figures increased by 212 percent for Afghani migrants, 32 percent for Pakistanis and 190 percent for migrants with other nationalities.

The number of illegal migrants deported since 2016 reached 427,000. While the deportation success rate is around 10 percent in Europe, this figure reached 69 percent in Türkiye.

A total of 57,174 Afghan citizens were returned to their country this year, including 41,185 with 217 charter flights and nearly 15,989 with scheduled flights.

In addition, a total of 11,195 Pakistanis were deported via two charter flights and scheduled flights.

Thanks to the security measures taken at the border gates, over 248,727 illegal migrants were prevented from entering the country in 2022.

With the efforts to detect and identify illegal migrants and organizers, more than 200,000 migrants have been caught since the beginning of the year, an increase of 86 percent compared to the same period of the last year.

Türkiye has become one of the key transit points for migrants looking to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Between January and Sept. 15, more than 200,000 irregular migrants have been caught in Türkiye. In the whole of 2021, this figure was 163,000, down from the previous year’s 455,000.

Afghan nationals constituted the largest group of caught irregular migrants this year at nearly 87,000, followed by Syrians at 29,600 and Pakistanis at 13,000.

As of Sept. 15, nearly 3.66 million Syrians live in Türkiye under temporary protection, down from 3.74 million in 2021. Most of the Syrians - 552,000 - reside in Istanbul, while the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa host 466,000 and 384,000 Syrians, respectively.