Why Do People Migrate?

In essence, migration decisions are usually shaped by a set of push factors (which force people to leave their country of origin) and pull factors (which make the country of destination attractive). Let us look at them one by one:

Economic Reasons

Unemployment, low income or poverty act as push factors, while better-paid jobs, demand for workers or a higher quality of life in another country are pull factors.

For example, the shortage of skilled labour in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands encourages labour migration to these countries. The 1.74 million vacancies recorded in Germany in 2022 (an all-time high) clearly showed the need for skilled migrants. To close this gap, Germany aimed in 2023 to make it easier for skilled workers from third countries to come through new migration laws. As a result, hundreds of thousands of new migrants have come to Germany.

According to the IAB job vacancy survey, there were around 1.15 million open positions in Germany in the first quarter of 2026; demand for labour has weakened with the economic slowdown, but the shortage in many skilled occupations persists. Similarly, the Netherlands is trying to attract foreign workers in fields where they are needed through its “Highly Skilled Migrant (HSM)” scheme. Turkey is among the top four countries sending skilled migrants to the Netherlands (the others being India, China and Russia).

Social Reasons

Social conditions such as better educational opportunities, family ties, gender equality or freedoms can also be pull factors. For example, the desire of young people to receive a quality education abroad is a strong reason for migration.

Students who want to study at universities in European countries turn to Europe thanks to programmes such as Erasmus+ and scholarship opportunities. In 2023, residence permits issued for education in EU countries rose by 13.5%, and more than 534,000 first residence permits were issued for education. Turkey is among the top 10 countries whose nationals receive the most student visas for the EU.

Political Reasons

Push factors such as war, civil unrest, human rights violations and oppressive regimes lead people to change countries in search of safety.

For example, the Syrian civil war forced millions of people to migrate to neighbouring countries and to Europe. Since 2011, Turkey has hosted around 3.5 million Syrians, becoming the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world. After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, returns accelerated, and by May 2026 the number of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey had fallen to about 2.28 million.

Likewise, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered one of the largest mass population movements in Europe since the Second World War, and as of July 2026 around 4.4 million Ukrainians were under temporary protection across the European Union.

Demographic and Environmental Reasons

In countries with population growth and a surplus of young labour, people look abroad for work, while countries with an ageing population need foreign labour and attract migration. In Germany, for example, low birth rates and a large elderly population have made accepting migrants critical for closing the labour gap.

Climate change and environmental disasters are also becoming an increasingly important factor in migration. Environmental push factors such as drought, depletion of water resources or rising sea levels can cause mass migration, especially in some regions of Africa and Asia.

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of people emigrating from Turkey because of economic fluctuations and unemployment. According to TÜİK (the Turkish Statistical Institute), the number of people leaving Turkey reached 714,579 in 2023, an increase of 53% compared with the previous year. Of these emigrants, 55.2% were men and 44.8% women. Over the past five years, emigration of Turkish citizens rose by 243%. This sharp increase shows that the young and educated population in particular (for example, the 25–29 age group) is turning abroad in search of better careers and living conditions. In 2025, the number of people emigrating fell by 5% compared with the previous year to 403,216; 155,119 of them were Turkish citizens.

In our next article we will focus on “Global Migration Trends and the European Context”.