Turkish diaspora

The Turkish diaspora (Turkish: Türk diasporası or Türk gurbetçiler) is the estimated population of the Turks all around the world who have migrated out from Turkey and former Turkish (Ottoman) territory. This includes citizens of Turkey living abroad (including ethnic Turks and other ethnic minorities), as well as ethnic Turks who have emigrated from other post-Ottoman states, particularly Turkish communities from the Balkans (such as Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania etc.), the island of Cyprus, the region of Meskhetia in Georgia, and the Arab world (such as Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria).

This article is about the Turkish diaspora. For the list of figures which includes all those of Turkish descent by country, see Turkish population.

Due to the large numbers of Mainland Turks, and Turkish minorities from other post-Ottoman states who have emigrated from their traditional homelands, there are no official statistics which represent a true indication of the total ethnic Turkish population in the host countries. For example, although official data shows that there are 52,893 Turkish citizens in the United Kingdom, the Home Affairs Committee states that there are now 500,000 British Turks made up of 300,000 Turkish Cypriots, 150,000 Turkish nationals (i.e. people from Turkey), and smaller groups of Bulgarian Turks and Romanian Turks.[1] Nonetheless, it is known that Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France all have larger Turkish diaspora communities than the UK.[2]

Diasporas

Anatolian/Mainland Turks

According to the Republic of Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Turkish citizens (i.e. ethnic Turks as well as other minority groups holding Turkish passports) living abroad exceeds 6 million people, around 5.5 million of which live in Western Europe.[3] However, these figures do not include Turkish immigrants, and their descendants, who have acquired the citizenship of the country they now live in, nor does it include ethnic Turks who have immigrated from other countries (such as Turks from the Balkans, Cyprus, Meskhetia, or the Arab world).

In Western Europe
See also: Turks in Austria, Turks in Denmark, Turks in France, Turks in Germany, and Turks in the Netherlands

Due to significant Turkish migration waves to Western Europe, today, the Turkish people form the largest ethnic minority group in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, and the second largest minority in Austria.[4] According to The Guardian, whilst half a million Turks live in the UK, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France all have larger Turkish communities.[2]

Germany

The largest Turkish community in Western Europe is in Germany. Estimates of the total Turkish population in Germany, including those of partial descent, have ranged considerably because the German census does not collect data on ethnicity. Academic estimates have often ranged between 2.5 and 4 million.[5][6] Official German data considering people with current or former Turkish citizenship (including ethnic minorities from Turkey, particularly the Kurds) and people who fully or partly descend from Turkish nationals gave the total number of 2.851.000 in 2015.[7] However, since the first decade of the twenty-first century, numerous academics have suggested that there are 4 million people, or "at least" or "more than" 4 million people, of full or partial Turkish origin in the country,[6][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] or forming 5% of Germany's total population of 82 million inhabitants (which accounts to 4.1 million).[6][15][17] In addition, several academics have also distinguished the "Turkey-related population", which includes ethnic minorities from Turkey but does not include the significant populations of ethnic Turkish communities from the Balkans, Cyprus and the Arab world. Estimates suggest that the total number of people living in Germany who originate from Turkey only (including ethnic minorities from Turkey, particularly the Kurds) reaches, or is more than, five million people[18][19][20] to 5.6 million people.[21] Some academics have also quoted much higher estimates made by European officials. For example, Tessa Szyszkowitz has quoted one estimate by a European official suggesting that there are seven million Turks living in Germany, including the second generation.[22]

In the Americas

Algerian Turks

Initially, the first wave of migration occurred in 1830 when many Turks were forced to leave the region once the French took control over Algeria; approximately 10,000 were shipped off to Turkey whilst many others migrated to other regions of the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine, Syria, Arabia, and Egypt.[23] Furthermore, some Turkish/Kouloughli families also settled in Morocco (such as in Tangier and Tétouan).[24]

In regards to modern migration, there are many Algerian Turks who have emigrated to Europe and, hence, make up part of Algeria's diaspora. For example, there is a noticeable Algerian community of Turkish descent living in England.[25] Many Algerians attend the Suleymaniye Mosque which is owned by the British-Turkish community.[26] There are also thousands of Algerian Turks living in France.[25] Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, and Spain are also top receiving countries of Algerian citizens.[27]

Egyptian Turks

In Egypt the Turkish populations were originally transported as slaves, where their Arab caliph served. The first Turkish dynasty in Egypt was that of the slave Ahmad ibn Tulun (868). Lastly also with the Turkish Ottoman Empire the Turkish populations establish large populations, and to this day descending of Turks governs Egypt, although much mixed with the original populations of Egypt.

Bulgarian Turks
See also: Bulgarian Turks
CountryPopulationFurther information
 Turkey1,160,614 have emigrated between 1879-1992[28]not including descendants
 Sweden30,000[29]
 Netherlands10,000-30,000[30]
 Austria1,000[31]

Cretan Turks
See also: Cretan Turks
CountryPopulation in 1971Further information
 Turkey200,000[32]
 Egypt100,000[32]
 Libya100,000[32]
 Lebanon
 Palestine
 Syria		50,000[32]

Cypriot Turks
See also: Turkish Cypriots and Turkish Cypriot diaspora
CountryTRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(2001 estimate)[33]		Other estimatesFurther information
 Turkey500,000300,000[34][35]-500,000[36][37]
 United Kingdom200,000300,000[1][38]-400,000[39][40]British Cypriots
British Turks
 Australia40,00060,000[41][42]-120,000[37]Turkish Australian
North America
 United States
 Canada		10,000
N/A
N/A		N/A
5,000[37]
1,800[37]		Cypriot American
Turkish American
Turkish Canadians
 Germany2,000[37]
 New Zealand1,600[37]
 South AfricaN/A[37]
Other5,000

Iraqi Turks
See also: Iraqi Turkmen
Iraqi Turks protesting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Most Iraqi Turkmen migrate to Turkey followed by Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.[43] Smaller communities have been formed in Canada, the United States, Australia,[43] Greece,[44] and the United Kingdom.[45] Note: Despite the name, "Iraqi Turkmen" are in fact ethnic Turks residing in Iraq, and are not Turkmen. The word "Turkmen" is a historical mislabelling that has been perpetuated to the present day.

Lebanese Turks
See also: Turks in Lebanon

Due to the numerous wars in Lebanon since the 1970s onwards, many Lebanese Turks have sought refuge in Turkey and Europe, particularly in Germany. Indeed, many Lebanese Turks were aware of the large German-Turkish population and saw this as an opportunity to find work once settling in Europe. In particular, the largest wave of Lebanese-Turkish migration occurred once the Israel-Lebanon war of 2006 began. During this period more than 20,000 Turks fled Lebanon, particularly from Beirut, and settled in Germany.[46]

Macedonian Turks

Meskhetian Turks
See also: Meskhetian Turks
Meskhetian ("Ahiska") Turks outside the White House in Washington D.C., United States.
CountryPopulationFurther information
 Kazakhstan150,000[47]
 Azerbaijan90,000-110,000[47]
 Russia70,000-90,000[48]
 Kyrgyzstan50,000[47]
 Turkey40,000[48]
 United States15,000[49]
 Uzbekistan15,000[48]
 Ukraine10,000[48]

Palestinian Turks
Syrian Turks waving Turkish and Syrian flags whilst shouting slogans: "No To Demographic Changes in Syria' and 'No To Genocide' during the December 2016 protests in London.

During and after the 1947–1949 Palestine war, some of the Turkish minority fled the region (particularly the Jezreel Valley region and Golan Heights) and settled in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.[50] [51] In Jordan, there is approximately 55,000 Palestinian-Turkish refugees in Irbid[52] 5,000 near Amman[52] 5,000 in El-Sahne[52] 3,000 in El-Reyyan[52] 2,500 in El-Bakaa[52] 1,500 in El-Zerkaa[52] and 1,500 in Sahab[52]

Romanian Turks
See also: Turks of Romania

Syrian Turks
See also: Syrian Turkmen

Since the Syrian Civil War hundreds of thousands of Syrian Turkmen have been internally displaced and/or have been forced to leave the country, especially to neighbouring states but also to Western Europe. In particular, approximately 300,000[53] to 500,000[54] Syrian Turkmen have taken refuge in the Republic of Turkey. Moreover, there is between 125,000 and 150,000[55][56] Syrian Turkmen refugees in Lebanon, outnumbering the long-established Turkish minority of Lebanon.

Western Thrace Turks

Between 300,000 and 400,000 Turks have left Greece's region of Western Thrace since 1923, most of which emigrated to Turkey.[57][58] 25,000 to 40,000 Western Thrace Turks have emigrated to Western Europe, about 80% are living in Germany.[59] Western Thrace Turks have also emigrated to the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria and Italy.[60]

Turkish Brazilians

Turkish Brazilians (or Turk Brazilians) (Turkish: Brezilya Türkleri) are Turkish people who have immigrated to Brazil, and are mainly Islamic. The term also refers to Brazilian-born persons who have Turkish parents or who have a Turkish ancestral background. The number of Turks in Brazil as of December 2017 is 6,200.[61] The majority of Turks in Brazil live in São Paulo.[62] In Rio de Janeiro, the Tijuca neighbourhood is rich in Turkish culture.[63]

See also

References
  1. Home Affairs Committee (2011). "Implications for the Justice and Home Affairs area of the accession of Turkey to the European Union" (PDF). The Stationery Office. p. Ev 34.
  2. The Guardian (1 August 2011). "UK immigration analysis needed on Turkish legal migration, say MPs". Retrieved 1 August 2011. The Home Office says that there are about 150,000 Turkish nationals living in Britain at present, with about 500,000 people of Turkish origin living in the country altogether.
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  4. Al-Shahi, Ahmed; Lawless, Richard (2013), "Introduction", Middle East and North African Immigrants in Europe: Current Impact; Local and National Responses, Routledge, p. 13, ISBN 978-1136872808
  5. Conradt, David P.; Langenbacher, Eric (2013), The German Polity, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, pp. 114–115, ISBN 978-1442216464, Turks are by far the largest minority group, with 2.5 to 4 million residents of Germany having full or partly Turkish ancestry.
  6. Curtis, Michael (2013), Jews, Antisemitism, and the Middle East, Transaction Publishers, p. 69, ISBN 978-1412851411, In Germany today about three to four million Turks, about 5 percent of the total population, reside.
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  9. Rizvi, Kishwar (2015), The Transnational Mosque: Architecture and Historical Memory in the Contemporary Middle East, University of North Carolina Press, p. 36, ISBN 978-1469621173, ...at least 4 million people of Turkish descent living in Germany.
  10. Audretsch, David B.; Lehmann, Erik E. (2016), The Seven Secrets of Germany: Economic Resilience in an Era of Global Turbulence, Oxford University Press, p. 130, ISBN 978-0190258696, By 2010 the number of Turkish descent living in Germany had increased to four million.
  11. Weaver-Hightower, Rebecca (2014), "Introduction", in Weaver-Hightower, Rebecca; Hulme, Peter (eds.), Postcolonial Film: History, Empire, Resistance, Routledge, p. 13, ISBN 978-1134747276, By the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century there were around four million people of Turkish descent living in Germany...
  12. Volkan, Vamik D. (2014), Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey Through War and Peace, Pitchstone Publishing, ISBN 978-1939578112, Today, for example, it is estimated that more than four million Turks and German citizens with part of full Turkish ancestry live in Germany alone.
  13. Fernández-Kelly, Patricia (2015), "Assimilation through Transnationalism: A Theoretical Synthesis", in Portes, Alejandro; Fernández-Kelly, Patricia (eds.), The State and the Grassroots: Immigrant Transnational Organizations in Four Continents, Berghahn Books, p. 305, ISBN 978-1782387350, Nearly fifty years later, close to four million Turks and their children continue to reside in the margins of German society
  14. Taras, Raymond (2015), ""Islamophobia never stands still": race, religion, and culture", in Nasar, Meer (ed.), Racialization and Religion: Race, Culture and Difference in the Study of Antisemitism and Islamophobia, Routledge, p. 46, ISBN 978-1317432449, ...about four million Turks are thought to live in Germany.
  15. Fischer, Tristan (2015), History Future Now, Lulu Press, p. 122, ISBN 978-1329707467, By 2012 over 4 million people, around 5% of the German population, were of Turkish descent.
  16. Feltes, Thomas; Marquardt, Uwe; Schwarz, Stefan (2013), "Policing in Germany: Developments in the Last 20 Years", in Mesko, Gorazd; Fields, Charles B.; Lobnikar, Branko; Sotlar, Andrej (eds.), Handbook on Policing in Central and Eastern Europe, Springer, p. 93, ISBN 978-1461467205, Approximately four million people with Turkish roots are living in Germany at this time [2013].
  17. Temel, Bülent (2013), "Candidacy versus Membership: Is Turkey the Greatest Beneficiary of the European Union?", The Great Catalyst: European Union Project and Lessons from Greece and Turkey, Lexington Books, p. 345, ISBN 978-0739174494, Today, there are nearly four million people with Turkish ancestry in Germany, which makes them the largest minority in Germany (5 percent of 82 million people).
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  19. Karanfil, Gökçen; Şavk, Serkan (2014), "An Introduction from the Editors", in Karanfil, Gökçen; Şavk, Serkan (eds.), Imaginaries Out of Place: Cinema, Transnationalism and Turkey, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 3, ISBN 978-1443868600, Today, with the numbers reaching nearly five million, Germany accommodates the largest Turkey-related population by far in comparison to any other country.
  20. Markovic, Nina; Yasmeen, Samina (2016), "Engaging Europe's Muslims: The European Union and Muslim Migrants during Eurozone Crisis", in Yasmeen, Samina; Markovic, Nina (eds.), Muslim Citizens in the West: Spaces and Agents of Inclusion and Exclusion, Routledge, p. 65, ISBN 978-1317091219, Demographic data on religious and ethnic backgrounds is difficult to gather as much of the data collection in Germany is based on nationality by country rather than ethnic group or religion...General consensus, however, suggests that Germany has 82 million residents...of which more than 5 million are considered to be Turkish origin. Many Turks and Kurds came to West Germany between the 1950s and 1970s...
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