Is Convergence between Syrian Migrants and Turkey Population a Myth or a Possibility?

Faruk Keskin , Hacettepe University
Pelin Cagatay, Hacettepe University

The Syrian civil war caused more than 5.6 million Syrians to be dispersed across neighboring countries. Turkey hosts the largest amount of the Syrian refugees with 65%. This is the largest wave of immigration that have been experienced in history from a single country to Turkey. This huge group of permanent visitors will definitely play a significant role in shaping the demographic structure of Turkey. The aim of this ongoing study is to clarify the living and working conditions of Syrian migrants in Turkey to see whether the new mechanisms developed by the government help to ensure the social justice and equal access to services. For the analyses, we utilized the data sets of 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey National Sample and Syrian Migrant Sample. The preliminary descriptive analyses revealed that the differences between the respondents in national sample and Syrian migrant sample were pronounced for living and working indicators. Child labor is prevalent among Syrian migrants with a paid job. Fourteen percent of Syrian migrants are are under 18 in working population whereas it is only 2 percent among the national sample. On the other hand, some of the health indicators show more equal perspective. The percentage of women receiving antenatal care from a skilled health personnel is 93 among Syrian women and 96 for those in the national sample. Although some findings point out an equal provision of services, others indicate a need for new mechanisms and support system that help the resettlement of Syrian migrants.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session P3. Poster Session Migration, Economics, Environment, Methods, History and Policy