Turkish graduates continue their steady migration with US, Germany as top choices

Türkiye’s latest official data show that the rate of university graduates leaving the country remained stable in 2024, with the United States once again ranking as the top destination for highly educated migrants.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) released its annual “Higher Education Brain Drain Statistics,” revealing that 2% of all higher education graduates emigrated last year, matching the 2023 level.

The figures highlight an ongoing pattern among young professionals choosing to build their careers abroad, especially in science and technology fields.

According to the data, male graduates migrated more than women, with rates of 2.4% and 1.6%, respectively. Among public university graduates, the emigration rate stood at 1.7%, while foundation university graduates recorded a slightly higher 4.3%, down from 4.5% the previous year.

Within foundation universities, fully funded scholarship holders showed the strongest migration tendency at 8.3%, followed by partially funded students (3.7%) and self-funded students (3.6%).

STEM fields, foreign-language education drive Türkiye brain drain

Graduates from information and communication technologies recorded the highest brain drain rate at 6.7%, followed by those in engineering, manufacturing, and construction (4.4%) and natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics (2.7%).

At the program level, molecular biology and genetics graduates led with a 15% emigration rate, followed by industrial engineering (10.8%), electronics engineering (9.6%), mathematics engineering (9.5%), and bioengineering (9.4%).

The language of instruction also shaped mobility patterns. French-taught graduates had the highest migration rate at 9.9%, ahead of those who studied in English (6.2%), German (5.9%), and Russian (4.7%).

TUIK noted that graduates educated in foreign languages are more likely to pursue international careers due to their linguistic and academic networks.

Top destinations for Turkish graduates abroad in 2024

Among all graduates who left Türkiye in 2024, 19.6% moved to the United States, followed closely by Germany (19.4%), the United Kingdom (11.3%), the Netherlands (7%), and Canada (5.2%).

• Electrical and electronics engineering graduates made up the largest share of those who moved to the United States
• Computer engineering graduates were the most common among those relocating to Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands
• Business administration graduates accounted for the largest group heading to Canada

Although the overall rate of graduate migration has not increased, Türkiye’s skilled workforce continues to show strong outward mobility, particularly in sectors linked to science, technology, and global business.

The report reflects a stable but persistent pattern in which young professionals seek opportunities abroad despite national efforts to retain talent.

October 24, 2025 05:30 PM GMT+03:00