More than half of Turks want to live abroad

Some 53 percent of Turkish citizens want to live or study abroad according to a poll by Metropoll Research. While it is mostly younger generations who opt to go abroad, the number grows incredibly for the opposition voters.

Thursday January 27 2022 11:53 am

Duvar English

Some 53% of Turkish citizens want to live abroad, according to a poll conducted by Metropoll Research.

The survey respondents were asked if they want to live or study abroad.

While just 21.4% of the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) voters want to live/study abroad, the figure is 76.1% for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) voters.

According to the survey results, 29.7% of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voters want to live/study abroad. This figure is 57.1% for the voters of center-right İYİ (Good) Party, and 82.3% for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

The survey results were shared by Metropoll head Özer Sencar on Twitter on Jan. 26.

Halkımızın yaşamak veya okumak için yurtdışı tercihi pic.twitter.com/0vnpsgxMNA
— Ozer Sencar (@ozersencar1) January 26, 2022

Accordingly, it is mostly younger people who want to live/study abroad. Some 64% of the 18-34 age group answered "yes" to the question, while this figure was 48% for the age group 35-54, and 43% for those aged above 55.

The survey comes amid a deteriorating economy and human rights record of the country.

Inflation has jumped to a 19-year high of 36% in December, while independent researchers found it as 83%.

The government has introduced fiscal measures to ease the currency volatility, but the lira is still 46% weaker than a year ago and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who wants to boost exports and credit, has refused to change course despite mounting criticism.