ISTANBUL

The number of Syrians who have returned to their homeland from Türkiye since Dec. 9 last year has reached 200,000, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

"Despite various difficulties, hinderances, and sabotage," Syria is slowly recovering, Erdogan said in a speech at an event on Türkiye’s migration management in the Century of Türkiye.

"As Syria recovers, the number of returnees has begun to accelerate," he stated.

Bashar Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long rule that began in 1963.

A transitional administration was formed in late January, dissolving the old Constitution, security services, armed factions, parliament, and the Baath Party.

Stressing that there are currently over 281 million migrants worldwide according to data from the International Organization for Migration, Erdogan added that the number of migrant workers is over 165 million.

Noting that the number of refugees has reached 120 million over the last three or four years due to the effects of wars, he said: "Again, the data shows that at least 20 people are forced to migrate every minute due to conflict, oppression, or terrorism."

Emphasizing that 3.6% of the globe’s population currently live as migrants, Erdogan highlighted that these rates increase exponentially when wars drag on, crises are not resolved, and the effects of climate change deepen.

"Although it is mainly the policy of Western powers that forces people to migrate, you do not see any of them when it comes to sharing the burden," he added, stating that 75 out of every 100 refugees in the world are hosted not by rich countries but by low- and middle-income countries.

During the 13-year Syrian civil war, Türkiye hosted some 4 million Syrians, more than any other country.