The United Nations and European Union (EU) recommend that countries make a "population and housing census" in years close to years ending in "0" in order to obtain internationally comparable statistics on population. In this context, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) carried out the "Population and Housing Census (PHC), 2021" based on administrative registers in a similar manner with the EU member states.

In Türkiye, annual information on internal migration is regularly produced from the ABPRS. Information about provincial in-migration and out-migration, net migration, rate of net migration, age and sex structure of population migrated, education level of the population migrated, and so on are obtained from the ABPRS.

In addition to the annual internal migration statistics, information on the reason for the migration of the population migrated was produced for the first time based on administrative registers within the scope of the 2021 PHC.          

 In Türkiye, 2 million 777 thousand 797 people migrated across provinces in 2021

 In Türkiye, the proportion of population migrated across provinces, which was 3.18% in the 2007-2008 period, followed a fluctuating course over the years and became 3.28% in 2021. In other words, in 2021, 2 million 777 thousand 797 people migrated across provinces in Türkiye. 47.5% of this population consisted of males while 52.5% were females.

İstanbul was the province with the highest provincial in-migration while Ardahan had the lowest provincial in-migration

 When the population migrated across provinces in Türkiye was examined, İstanbul was the province having the highest provincial in-migration with 385 thousand 328 people. İstanbul was followed by Ankara with 197 thousand 702 people and İzmir with 131 thousand 394 people, respectively. The provinces with the lowest provincial in-migration were Ardahan with 4 thousand 750 people, Tunceli with 7 thousand 54 people and Kilis with 7 thousand 474 people, respectively.

İstanbul was the province with the highest provincial out-migration while Bayburt had the lowest provincial out-migration

 It was seen that İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir, the provinces with the highest provincial in-migration, were also the provinces with the highest provincial out-migration. İstanbul took the first place in provincial out-migration with 408 thousand 165 people and was followed by Ankara with 165 thousand 604 people and İzmir with 109 thousand 470 people. The provinces with the lowest provincial out-migration were Bayburt with 6 thousand 382 people, Ardahan with 6 thousand 445 people and Tunceli with 6 thousand 517 people, respectively.

In Türkiye, 20-24 age group had the largest internal migrant population in 2021

In Türkiye, the largest internal mobility in terms of size in 2021 was in the 20-24 age group with 731 thousand 284 people. 41.6% of the internal migrants in this age group were males and 58.4% were females.

The proportion of young persons who enrolled at a university in a province other than their province of residence was 4.2%

 In 2021, 386 thousand 646 young people in the 18-24 age group in Türkiye enrolled at a university located in a different province from his/her province of residence. The proportion of these young people in the youth population at the age group of 18-24 was 4.2%. While this proportion was 3.7% for young males, it was 4.7% for young females.

 When the proportion of young people who enrolled a university in a province other than their province of residence was analysed by province of university, it was seen that the province with the highest proportion was Isparta with 17.5%. This province was followed by Bayburt with 16.8% and Burdur with 16.7%. The provinces with the lowest proportion were Şanlıurfa with 0.2%, Şırnak with 0.4%, Mardin and Diyarbakır with 0.7%, respectively.

In Türkiye, the most common reason for migration was education in 2021

In Türkiye, out of the 2 million 777 thousand 797 people who migrated across provinces in 2021, 686 thousand 973 people migrated for education. When the other reasons for migration were examined, it was seen that 570 thousand 224 people migrated for reasons related to a member of the household and 429 thousand 752 people migrated for better housing and living conditions.

Education was the most common reason for migration among both males and females

In 2021, when the reason for migration was examined by sex, it was seen that both males and females migrated mostly for education. 274 thousand 273 males and 412 thousand 700 females migrated for education. Following the education, for both sexes again, migration related to a member of the household and better housing/living conditions were the most common reasons for migration, respectively.

Education was the most common reason for migration in the 20-24 age group which had the largest internal migrant population

When the reason for the migration of the 20-24 age group, which was the most mobile age group in Türkiye in 2021, was examined, it was seen that the most common reason for the migration was education. 396 thousand 145 of the internal migrants in this age group migrated for education, 84 thousand 531 of them migrated for starting a job/finding a job and 44 thousand 95 of them migrated for better housing and living conditions. (ILKHA)