Some 640,000 Syrians have returned home from Turkey since the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, according to figures from the United Nations refugee agency, accounting for the largest share of more than 1.6 million returns recorded so far.
A refugee returns dashboard published on April 30 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) showed that an estimated 639,995 Syrians had returned from Turkey since December. 8, 2024, when Assad was ousted.
UNHCR said 1,630,874 Syrians in total had returned home from neighboring and other host countries during the same period, including those from Turkey. The estimate was based on multiple sources, including population movement reporting, interviews, border monitoring and data from immigration and border authorities.
Turkey was followed by Lebanon, with 630,697 returns, and Jordan, with 284,881. The dashboard also recorded 41,179 returns from Iraq, 27,970 from Egypt and 6,152 from other countries.
Women accounted for 52 percent of the returnees, or 840,496 people, while men made up 48 percent, or 790,378 people, according to UNHCR.
The largest numbers of returnees were recorded in Damascus, with 286,990 people, followed by Idlib with 237,329, Aleppo with 229,851, Rural Damascus with 210,419, Homs with 203,945, Hama with 163,677 and Dar’a with 143,032.
The latest figures show that returns from Turkey are nearing a UNHCR projection published last year that estimated 700,000 Syrians would return from Turkey by the end of 2025. The agency had linked the expected increase to the political shift in Syria after Assad’s ouster, while warning that many returnees faced serious obstacles, including limited housing, essential services and livelihoods.
Turkey has long been at the center of the Syrian refugee crisis. According to UNHCR, Turkey hosted 2.9 million Syrian nationals under temporary protection at the end of 2024, although the number has since fallen to about 2.3 million.
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said in February that 1,366,215 Syrians had returned to their country “voluntarily, safely and with dignity.”
The Turkish Interior Ministry on Monday issued a statement on X following confusion over differing return figures from the ministry and the UN refugee agency, saying that figures announced by Çiftçi refer to cumulative voluntary returns from Turkey since 2016, not only to returns after Assad’s fall.
According to the latest data from the Presidency of Migration Management, the number of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey stands at 2,280,542, while the number of Syrians who have voluntarily returned after December 8, 2024, has been recorded as 667,565, the ministry said, citing latest data from the Presidency of Migration Management.
Suriyelilerin Gönüllü, Güvenli, Onurlu ve Düzenli Geri Dönüş Sayılarına İlişkin Bazı Basın Yayın Organlarında Yer Alan İddialara Dair Açıklama
Bazı basın yayın organlarında yer alan haberlerde, Suriye’ye yönelik gönüllü geri dönüş sayılarına ilişkin resmî verilerin ve…
— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) May 4, 2026
The Turkish government has for years promoted voluntary returns as part of its refugee policy, while human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns over the conditions under which Syrians are encouraged or pressured to leave, citing reports of coerced returns, lack of informed consent and unsafe reintegration environments.
UNHCR said in earlier assessments that returns must be voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable, and that returning Syrians need protection safeguards and international support as they rebuild their lives in a country still facing severe shortages in housing, services and livelihoods.