Community
Türkiye
The Somali community in Türkiye is led by students. Since Türkiye's first large award of 300 scholarships in 2012, thousands of Somalis have studied there, and 2,126 graduated from Turkish universities between 2013 and 2023.
Who lives there
Most Somalis in Türkiye are students or recent graduates, mainly in Ankara and Istanbul. No count of the whole community was found.
- Graduates: 2,126 Somali students graduated from Turkish universities from 2013 to 2023, 11.4% of all African graduates. More than 300 graduated in Ankara alone in 2025–26 (Dawan Africa).
- Students: in 2022 a Somali official estimated almost 5,000 Somali students were studying in Türkiye, and more than 9,000 had gone there on full scholarships, partial scholarships or their own money (Anadolu Agency, 2022).
How it began
In October 2012 Türkiye gave scholarships to 300 Somali students: 140 for first degrees, 150 for master's degrees and 10 for doctorates (Dawan Africa). Thousands more have followed through the Türkiye Scholarships programme (Daily Sabah).
Work and money
Most are students on scholarships or paying their own way. Some graduates go home to work; others look for work in Türkiye. Anadolu Agency reports graduates going home to put their training to work for Somalia (Anadolu Agency).
Who serves the community
The Turkish state and its scholarship body, YTB. Somalia's embassy in Ankara has an education attaché. Embassy officials and a Somali MP attended the July 2025 graduation in Ankara (Dawan Africa).
What the community faces now
Hundreds of graduates each year hold Turkish degrees but have no clear path to a job at home.
Top needs
- Paid work at home for graduates.
- A way to use their skills, in engineering, medicine, law and public administration, in real work at home.
- A record of who has which skills.
- A voice in Somalia's future.
- Support for the few who are not students, such as workers and asylum seekers.
What we don't know yet
The size of the whole community, jobs after graduation, and Istanbul numbers. If you know, use "Fix this page".
Sources
- Dawan Africa · dawan.africa
- Anadolu Agency, 2022 · aa.com.tr
- Daily Sabah · dailysabah.com
Gathered in our research record “Community profiles”. Wikipedia is used only as a backup.
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