Turkey brain drain rate for higher education graduates rises to 2.2%

According to 2025 statistics released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the brain drain rate among higher education graduates in Turkey has increased to 2.2%, up from 2% the previous year. The rate is higher among men at 2.7% compared to 1.8% for women.

Geographically, Istanbul recorded the highest migration rate at 4%, followed by Izmir, Ankara, Eskişehir, and Yalova. Siirt reported the lowest rate at 0.2%. Graduates from foundation (private) universities show a higher migration rate of 4.4% compared to 1.9% for state university graduates. Notably, full scholarship students from foundation universities had a migration rate of 8.6%.

By field of study, information and communication technologies saw the highest migration at 7%, followed by engineering, manufacturing, and construction at 4.8%. At the undergraduate program level, molecular biology and genetics recorded the highest rate at 13.1%, followed by business engineering at 13% and mathematical engineering at 11%.

Germany is the most preferred destination for graduates at 22%, followed by the United States (16.9%), the United Kingdom (10.5%), the Netherlands (5.2%), and Canada (5.2%). Regarding the language of instruction, graduates who studied in French had the highest migration rate at 10.5%, followed by German (7.5%) and English (6.8%).