Brain drain increased in Türkiye: Germany is the first choice of university graduates

According to the 2025 higher education brain drain statistics announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), there has been an increase in the rate of university graduates migrating abroad. The brain drain rate, which was 2 percent the previous year, increased to 2.2 percent in 2025.

According to TUIK data, the brain drain rate of higher education graduates was recorded as 2.7 percent for men and 1.8 percent for women. The highest brain drain rate among education fields was seen in information and communication technologies.

BRAIN DRAIN RATES BY PROVINCES

The province with the highest higher education brain drain rate was Istanbul with 4 percent in 2025, followed by Izmir, Ankara, Eskişehir and Yalova, respectively. The province with the lowest higher education brain drain rate was Siirt with 0.2 percent, followed by Hakkari, Kilis, Van and Bitlis, respectively.

The top 5 provinces with the highest higher education brain drain rate for men were Istanbul with 4.7 percent, Izmir with 4.4 percent, Ankara with 3.6 percent, Eskişehir with 2.9 percent and Yalova with 2.8 percent. The top 5 provinces with the highest higher education brain drain rate for women were Istanbul with 3.4 percent, Izmir with 2.8 percent, Ankara with 2.4 percent, Eskişehir with 1.7 percent and Bursa with 1.5 percent.

While the brain drain rate among state university graduates was 1.7 percent in 2024, it increased to 1.9 percent in 2025. While the brain drain rate among foundation university graduates was 4.3 percent in 2024, it increased to 4.4 percent in 2025. Among foundation university graduates, the highest brain drain rate in 2025 was observed in those receiving full scholarship education with 8.6 percent, followed by those receiving partial scholarship education with 3.8 percent and those receiving paid education with 3.7 percent.

EDUCATION AREAS

The education and training fields with the highest brain drain rate were information and communication technologies (7 percent), engineering, manufacturing and construction (4.8 percent) and natural sciences, mathematics and statistics (3 percent). The education and training field with the highest brain drain rate was information and communication technologies with 8.2 percent for men and 5.1 percent for women, while the education and training field with the lowest brain drain rate was agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary with 0.8 percent for men and education with 0.7 percent for women.

THE COUNTRY TO WHICH GRADUATES MIGRATE THE MOST IS GERMANY

The top 5 countries preferred by those who completed an undergraduate program to immigrate were Germany with 22 percent, the United States with 16.9 percent, the United Kingdom with 10.5 percent, the Netherlands with 8.3 percent and Canada with 5.2 percent, respectively. While the undergraduate program with the largest share of graduates migrating to Germany was computer engineering, the graduates who most preferred the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were from the same department.

While the undergraduate program with the largest share among graduates who immigrated to the United States was electrical and electronics engineering, the undergraduate program with the largest share among graduates who chose to immigrate to Canada was business administration.