As per the reports, more than 300,000 international students graduated from Turkish universities during the 2022–23 academic year.
Turkey has reached the goal set by the Turkey Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEiK) for this number of international students last year. According to the data revealed by Turkey’s Council of Higher Education (YÖK), last year, the total number of international students that were pursuing higher education in Turkey was 301,694.
In the 2013–14 academic year, there were only 48,183 international students enrolled in Turkish higher education institutions. However, the number has substantially grown in recent years, showing a gradual increase in the number of international students.
As per the data, the largest number of international students came from Syria and Azerbaijan, with 58,213 and 34,247 students, respectively. On the other hand, China and India send the least number of international students to Turkey, where China sends only 1,445 and India sends 549 students.
Turkey is among the top ten countries in terms of the number of international students. It attracts a significant number of students each year through both the Erasmus+ programme and cooperation with other universities. Each year, Turkish universities enrol over 250,000 international students.
During the event, Irfan Gündüz, president of the Education Economy Business Council, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the desired number of international students studying in Turkey was 350,000. Ultimately, the number of international students in Turkey is less than what was predicted.
As per the latest ranking, some of the top-ranked universities in Turkey are:
- Cankaya University
- Koç University
- Sabancı University
- Middle East Technical University
- Bahçeşehir University
In the academic year 2021–22, there were around 260,289 students pursuing different courses at various levels in Turkey. However, the trends show that the highest number of students were enrolled in undergraduate programmes.