Following the eruption of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, the Syrian crisis has displaced more than 5.2 million refugees into Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Since then, Turkey has become a major transit and destination country for these refugees. According to the World Bank (2017), the country currently hosts the largest refugee population in the world. Based on data from the Directorate of General Migration Management (DGMM 2017a), the number of Syrian refugees registered under temporary protection in Turkey was around 3.38 million as of mid-December 2017, and the nation also accommodates about 300,000 refugees from other countries.
In this report, the authors present the results of a simulation exercises aimed at assessing the economic impact of refugees on the Turkish economy over the short, medium and long terms.