According to data from the Interior Ministry, Türkiye experienced a notable decrease in the number of foreigners holding valid residence permits last year. The figures declined by more than 247,000, settling at 1.10 million residents.

Istanbul emerged as the leading city in hosting foreigners with residence permits, accommodating 556,578 individuals, as revealed by the ministry's migration office on Jan. 16. Antalya followed with 117,052 residents, and other cities with notable figures included the capital Ankara (70,098), Bursa (51,537), Mersin (43,944), Izmir (25,576) and Muğla (20,453).

Conversely, Tunceli held the lowest number of foreigners with residence permits, with only 52 individuals. This was followed by Muş with 83, Bitlis with 204, Bayburt with 280 and Ardahan with 278.

The statistics further detailed that among the foreign residents, 638,764 were on short-term residence permits, 161,426 were students, 117,579 were with family permits and 189,263 held other types of residence permits.

Antalya, which experienced a surge in immigration due to COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, witnessed a decline in the number of foreigners with residence permits, falling from 157,575 to 117,052 between Jan. 19 and Dec. 31 last year.

The war in Ukraine saw a total of 63,704 Russians and Ukrainians returning home, reducing the number of Russian citizens from 154,297 to 100,847 and Ukrainians from 47,236 to 36,982.

Turkmenistan citizens claimed the top spot among foreigners with residence permits in Türkiye at 109,390, followed by 100,847 Russian citizens, 91,117 Iraqi citizens, 79,779 Syrian citizens, 79,505 Iranian citizens and 67,621 Azerbaijani citizens.

The list continued with citizens from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Ukraine, respectively, while 405,033 individuals held citizenship from various other countries.

Meanwhile, Türkiye remains home to 4.7 million legally registered migrants, according to the official data.