Student recruitment from Türkiye: data, trends and forecasts

With demand for international education programmes soaring post-pandemic, Türkiye has established itself as an increasingly significant market for student recruitment. A new BONARD Education webinar unpacks trends in student mobility statistics to help educators plan their recruitment strategies.

Highlights

K-12 abroad programmes are increasingly popular, and Canada is the biggest beneficiary.
Junior student numbers are growing in the English language teaching sector as well.
Demand for higher education programmes abroad is still rising, and Germany is expected to remain the top destination for university students.
Visa refusals remain the most significant challenge for educators recruiting students from Türkiye.

Source Market Webinar - Türkiye

“Dubai is a rising star for the Turkish market. It’s a very good opportunity for English language students,” comments Selçuk Atmaca, Vice General Manager of EğitimAL Education Counselling Services, one of the panellists on the BONARD Education webinar Recruiting Students from Türkiye.
On the other hand, Malta, Atmaca adds, “lost its edge a bit”.
“Now Malta has started to be one of the hardest countries to get visas for,” he explains.
“Canada and Australia were some of the top destinations, but now it’s harder to get visas even for ELT programmes. Ireland has started to replace Australia for long-term ELT programmes.”

Bonard-Türkiye-Webinar-Selcuk Atmaca

The international education sector is constantly influenced by a series of factors, including the economic situation in source and destination countries, election results and immigration policy changes.

With a series of webinars focused on student recruitment, BONARD Education aims to give attendees the tools to understand how demand is changing in each key source country and to tailor their student recruitment strategies accordingly.

The latest webinar focused on Türkiye, an evolving market with soaring demand for higher education programmes abroad, especially post-COVID.

Now experts - and statistics - suggest that junior programmes abroad are the next area of growth for student recruitment from Türkiye.

The webinar included a presentation of the latest data by International Education Consultant Tanya Todorova and a panel discussion chaired by Sarah Verkinova, Senior Research Manager at BONARD, with contributions from key figures in the Turkish international education sector.

Soaring demand

BONARD Education has been tracking student mobility data in Türkiye for over a decade.

Overall, the headline figures are positive: the number of internationally mobile students from Türkiye has grown quite substantially between 2019 and 2023 - by an estimated 32%.

The higher education sector leads with the most significant growth, almost 40% between 2019 and 2023.

Todorova explains: “Growth in the higher education sector is driven by several factors, for example, an increasing need for highly skilled graduates.
“Capacity constraints within Türkiye's higher education system are also pushing students to seek better-quality education and career prospects abroad.”

The ELT sector is also growing, attracting increasing numbers of Turkish students to all destinations – and with the exception of the USA and Canada, all other countries surpassed pre-pandemic enrolment numbers.

While Türkiye has traditionally been a strong source of higher education and adult English language students, in line with global trends, it is now sending increasingly large numbers of junior students abroad.

This is evident in the ELT sector, where demand for junior programmes is rising.

Andaç Baran Cezayirlioglu, Managing Director of Ovygo Institute and one of the panellists on the webinar, said: “Every year there’s a 20% increase in junior programmes, while the adult programmes are not growing as fast.”

Bonard-Türkiye-Webinar Andac Baran

Another interesting trend is the growth in popularity of high school programmes abroad.

“The K-12 market remains stable at the moment,” Todorova explains. “But it is expected to expand as the junior segment continues to grow.”

According to survey figures shared by another panellist, Engin Cosar, Managing Director and Owner of Academix Study Abroad Services, 88% of young people in Türkiye would like to study abroad.

“This shows that despite the financial challenges caused by inflation and the depreciation of the Turkish lira, many Turkish families are willing to invest in their children's education as a pathway to better career opportunities and potential immigration options.”
Cosar added that rising private school fees in Türkiye are also pushing more families to consider education programmes abroad for their children.
“I see for the next couple of years there will be growing interest for the K-12 programmes,” he said.

Bonard-Türkiye-Webinar-Engin Cossar

The most popular destinations

Todorova’s presentation during the webinar touched on the most popular destinations for each age group and sector. While preferences didn’t change substantially in the higher education and K-12 sectors, considerable shifts have affected the popularity of ELT destinations, with some alternative destinations such as Dubai emerging as new education hubs.

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For higher education students, Germany remains - and is expected to remain - the most popular destination, followed by the USA, the UK, Canada and Australia.

“Behind Germany’s enduring popularity with Turkish students are not only its geographical proximity and affordable programmes, but also the added benefit of the opportunity to work while studying,” Todorova explains.

“Affordability, scholarship opportunities and work rights remain crucial factors for Turkish students.”

Turkish student numbers are expected to keep rising in all destinations, especially in Germany and the USA.

The K-12 sector is relatively younger (pun intended), and there is less data available compared to higher education or ELT. However, from the data that we do have available and from feedback from stakeholders, it is clear that demand for high school programmes abroad is gathering pace, and one country is the beneficiary: Canada, with the province of Ontario standing out as the most popular destination, followed by British Columbia. Another destination country on which we have data is Australia, but its popularity among K-12 Turkish students is nowhere near as strong as Canada’s.

More striking shifts can be observed in the English language teaching sector. The UK remains the most popular destination, but Australia climbed the ranks while the USA dropped out of the top 5. Demand for adult language courses, especially those leading to higher education, is particularly strong.

“Right now, the highest growth in demand is in academic pathways, foundation, pre-masters, direct university entry,” Cosar observes. However, in line with global trends, the number of juniors studying English abroad is also rising.

Two trends to note are the increasing popularity of alternative destinations - Dubai is an example - offering work rights and friendlier visa policies compared to other countries, and a preference toward shorter courses.

These trends are fuelled by two challenges that are influencing students’ decisions: the current economic situation in Türkiye and the difficulty in obtaining visas for certain countries.

“Countries that provide post-study work opportunities and career options, such as the UK, the USA, Canada and Germany, will definitely continue to be popular among Turkish students,” said Cosar.

“But at the same time, we are also seeing some shift towards the more affordable or visa-friendly options such as Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.”

A poll of webinar attendees confirmed that visa difficulties are the most significant challenge when recruiting Turkish students. This affects primarily the higher education and English language teaching sector.

Economic difficulties are causing students to choose shorter courses (below 10-12 weeks) compared to the past, panellists observed.

A look to the future

Despite some challenges, panellists are positive for the future.

Cosar observes: “Türkiye’s economic climate, including inflation and the depreciation of the Turkish lira, will continue to influence students’ ability to afford education abroad. But we also expect some stabilisation in the next couple of years.”

Bonard-Türkiye-Webinar-Engin Cossar

Cezayirlioglu adds: “In the next five years, I expect to see increased demand for international exposure. We’ll also have an election in four years and some policy changes - institutions should be prepared for that.”
He mentions two more factors that will boost demand. The first is the push factor created by conflict in the Middle East, which is making more and more young people think of building a future elsewhere, starting with an educational experience.
The second is Türkiye’s large immigrant community. “They will be part of the demand for international education that Türkiye will create. That’s a huge potential for international educators,” he concludes.

Bonard-Türkiye-Webinar Andac Baran

BONARD Education has been operating in Türkiye since 2011. During this time, the BONARD team has gathered, monitored and analysed key statistics on student mobility and established a wide network of partners in the country. Thanks to this, BONARD has been able to support overseas institutions interested in recruiting students or partnering with local institutions.

Find more information at www.bonardeducation.com or contact Terezia Sufliarska, BONARD’s Marketing Manager, atterezia.sufliarska@bonard.com.

A deep dive into visa statistics

Statistics on visa applications, grants and refusals are important tools to understand the market and forecast its behaviour.

The trends hidden behind the statistics inform market intelligence and allow international educators to maximise student recruitment from target markets.

To help international educators easily access and use visa statistics, we have added a new feature to our Intelligence Platform monitoring visa applications, grants and refusals in several study destinations.

In regard to student mobility from Türkiye, here is what the statistics tell us:

Towards the end of 2023, visa approval rates for Turkish students
in four selected countries (Canada, Australia, the UK and the USA) declined, with Canada approving only 40% of applications.
The impact of the introduction of the student visa cap in Canada is evident.
Applications for Canadian study permits dropped by 50% between the first half of 2023 and the same period in 2024. Approval rates for students in higher education programmes remained relatively low, standing at 74% at the end of the second quarter. In July, this rate dropped further to 55%. On the other hand, approval rates for the K-12 segment rose from 69% in January to 95% in July 2024.
In the UK, data shows a steady recovery since 2020,
with more than 4,500 student visas being approved for Turkish students in 2023.
In the USA, the performance was solid and we expect to see some growth.
In Australia, we observed low approval rates for specific segments.
For example, the approval rate for ELICOS visas stood at 51% at the end of 2023, rising to 63% in July and 71% in August 2024. Despite this progress, these figures remain low compared to 78% in 2023 and 98% in 2022.

SOURCE MARKET WEBINAR: TÜRKİYE

Webinar Recording

After a presentation of the latest statistics by Tanya Todorova (International Education Consultant at BONARD), Sarah Verkinova (Senior Research Manager at BONARD) lead a panel discussion featuring Andaç Baran Cezayirlioğlu (Managing Director at Ovygo Institute), Selçuk Atmaca (Vice General Manager at EğitimAL Education), and Engin Cosar (Managing Director and Owner of Academix Study Abroad Services).

SOURCE MARKET WEBINAR: TÜRKIYE

Presentation - Request form

Get closer to students in Türkiye, one of the top student recruitment source markets.

Presentation content:

Overview of Türkiye as a source market Popular study destinations for this market Sector-specific insights (HE, ELT, K-12)

Do you have a specific source market in mind? Allow us to assist you in reaching your goals. Contact us at education@bonard.com.

Demand for junior programmes abroad rising in Türkiye, experts say