Turkish diaspora
The Turkish diaspora refers to ethnic Turkish people who have migrated from, or are the descendants of migrants from, the Republic of Turkey, Northern Cyprus or other modern nation-states that were once part of the former Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the Turkish diaspora is not only formed by people with roots from mainland Anatolia and Eastern Thrace ; rather, it is also formed of Turkish communities which have also left traditional areas of Turkish settlements in the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, the region of Meskhetia in Georgia, and the Arab world.
In particular, most mainland Turkish migration has been to Western and Northern Europe. Meanwhile, almost all the Turkish minorities in former Ottoman lands have a large diaspora in Turkey, many having migrated as muhacirs ; furthermore, the Cretan Turks have migrated throughout the Levant; Cypriot Turks have a significant diaspora in the English-speaking countries ; the Meskhetian Turks have a large diaspora in Central Asia; and Algerian Turks and Tunisian Turks have mostly settled in France. Since Bulgarian Turks and Romanian Turks gained EU citizenship in 2007, their diasporas in Western Europe significantly increased once restrictions on movement came to a halt in 2012.
Europe
As early as 1997 Professor Servet Bayram and Professor Barbara Seels said that there was 10 million Turks living in Western Europe and the Balkans. By 2010, Boris Kharkovsky from the Center for Ethnic and Political Science Studies said that there was up to 15 million Turks living in the European Union. According to Dr Araks Pashayan 10 million "Euro-Turks" alone were living in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium in 2012. Furthermore, there are significant Turkish communities living in Austria, the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and the Scandinavian countries. Meanwhile, approximately 400,000 Meskhetian Turks live in Europe.In addition to the modern Turkish diaspora in Europe, there are also traditional Turkish communities in post-Ottoman nation-states. For example, Turkish Cypriots and Turkish settlers living in North Cyprus number around 300,000 to 500,000. In addition, in Southeastern Europe there is over 1 million Turks living in the Balkan countries. Since the 20th century, these ethnic Turkish communities have also migrated to Western Europe and have enlarged the Turkish diaspora significantly. More recently, since the "European migrant crisis", Iraqi Turks, Kosovo Turks and Syrian Turks have also settled in areas where there are large Turkish diasporas.
Consequently, within the diaspora, ethnic Turkish people now form the largest minority group in Austria, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
In March 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated to the Turks in Europe, "Make not three, but five children. Because you are the future of Europe. That will be the best response to the injustices against you." This has been interpreted as an imperialist call for demographic warfare.
According to The Economist, Erdoğan is the first Turkish leader to take the Turkish diaspora seriously, which has created friction within these diaspora communities and between the Turkish government and several of its European counterparts.
Germany
The Turkish-Germans are the largest ethnic minority group in Germany and also the largest Turkish community in the Turkish diaspora.The German census counts around three million Turks living in Germany. This does not only count those born in Turkey, but also descendants. The majority of ethnic Turks living in Germany have either arrived from or originate from Turkey; however, there are also significant ethnic Turkish communities which have come from other post-Ottoman nation-states in the Balkans, as well as from the island of Cyprus, and Lebanon. More recently, since the European migrant crisis, there has also been a significant increase in the number of ethnic Turks from Syria, Iraq and Kosovo who have come to Germany.
The German state does not allow citizens to self-declare their identity; consequently, the statistics published in the official German census does not show data on ethnicity. According to the 2023 estimation, roughly 3 million German residents had a "migration background" from Turkey.
France
The Turks living in France form one of the largest Turkish communities in Western Europe. Official data on the total number of French Turks is not available because the French census only records statistics on the country of birth rather than one's ethnic affiliation.Although the majority of French Turks are descend from people from the Republic of Turkey, there has also been significant Turkish migration from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to France from North Africa, the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, and more recently from Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria.
In 2014 Professor reported in L'Express that the Turkish population was around 800,000. However, an earlier academic publication in 2010 by Dr Jean-Gustave Hentz and Dr Michel Hasselmann said that there were already 1 million Turks living in France. Professor İzzet Er, as well as the French-Armenian politician Garo Yalic, also said that there were 1,000,000 Turks in France in 2011 and 2012 respectively. More recently, the Turkish-French population has been estimated to be more than one million according to French-published articles in Le Petit Journal and Marianne.
The Netherlands
The Turkish-Dutch community form the largest ethnic minority group in the Netherlands. The majority of Dutch Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however there has also been significant Turkish migration waves from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to the Netherlands from the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, and more recently during the European migrant crisis from Syria, Iraq and Kosovo. In addition, there has been migration to the Netherlands from the Turkish diaspora; many Turkish-Belgians and Turkish-Germans have arrived in the country as Belgian and German citizens.The Dutch official census only collects data on country of birth, rather than ethnically; consequently, the total number of ethnic Turkish migrants nor the third, fourth or fifth generation of the Turkish-Dutch community have been collectively counted. Assistant Professor Suzanne Aalberse, Professor Ad Backus and Professor Pieter Muysken have said that "over the years" the Dutch-Turkish community "must have numbered half a million". However, there are significantly higher estimates. As early as 2003, the political scientist and international relations expert Dr Nathalie Tocci said that there was already "two million Turks in Holland". Rita van Veen also reported in Trouw that there was 2 million Turks in the Netherlands in 2007. More recently, in 2020, a report published in L1mburg Centraal estimated that there are more than 2 million Dutch-Turks. Voetbal International also reported in 2020 that the Dutch football club Fortuna Sittard will be carrying out annual scouting activities to find "Turkish talent" among the approximately 2 million Turkish-Dutch community.
In 2009 The Sophia Echo reported that Bulgarian Turks were now the fastest-growing group of immigrants in the Netherlands.
The CBS gives a total number, 444.300 Turks in 2022, up from 271.500 in 1996. About half were born in the Netherlands and the other half outside the Netherlands The third generation, those who are born in the Netherlands including their parents but at least one grandparent not, was 36.200 in 2022. This only accounts for people being between the age of 0 and 55. In 2022 there were about 430.000 Turks in the Netherlands. The third generation is counted as autochthonous. Thus, the total number of people in the Netherlands with at least one grandparent born in Turkey in 2022 was at least 466.200.
Austria
The Turkish community, including descendants, form the largest ethnic minority in Austria. In 2011 a report by the Initiative Minderheiten said that there was 360,000 people of Turkish origin living in Austria. This figure has also been echoed by the former Austrian Foreign Minister and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz. However, the former Austrian MEP, Andreas Mölzer, has claimed that there are 500,000 Turks in the country.Belgium
In 2012 Professor Raymond Taras said that the Belgian-Turkish community was over 200,000. More recently, in 2019 Dr Altay Manço and Dr Ertugrul Taş said that there was 250,000 Belgian residents of Turkish origin.United Kingdom
In 2011 the Home Affairs Committee stated that there was 500,000 British Turks made up of 300,000 Turkish Cypriots, 150,000 Turkish nationals, and smaller groups of Bulgarian Turks and Romanian Turks. Despite a lack of statistics on the collective number of Turks who have immigrated from their traditional homelands, it is known that Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France all have larger Turkish diaspora communities than the UK.Sweden
In 2009 the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said that there was almost 100,000 people with a Turkish background living in Sweden. More recently, in 2018 the Swedish Consul General, Therese Hyden, said that the population was now around 150,000.Switzerland
In 2017 there was over 120,000 Turks living in Switzerland. They mostly live in German-speaking regions, especially in the cantons of Zurich, Aargau and Basel. Figures on naturalization and migration from Turkey has been declining, however, the Swiss population with a Turkish background continues to grow.Denmark
The Turkish community form the largest ethnic minority in Denmark. In 2008, it was estimated that Danes of Turkish origin numbered 70,000.Italy
In 2020 there were 50,000 Turkish citizens living in Italy; however, this figure does not include naturalized Italian citizens of Turkish origin or their descendants. Between 2008 and 2020 some 5,295 Turkish citizens acquired Italian citizenship.In addition to the diaspora, some of the population in Moena has identified as Turkish since the 17th century.