In the past couple of years, we have frequently referred to “alternative” destinations that are becoming more popular among students who are looking for additional options – especially in light of rising concerns around affordability or access to student visas – to the Big Four English-speaking destinations of Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. But we may soon have to find a new term, as several “alternative” destinations are now enrolling hundreds of thousands of international students.

Türkiye is one of those destinations. In 2018, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced an intention to see his country expand its foreign student numbers from about 125,000 to 350,000. At that time, international enrolments were capped at 50% of all enrolments, but in 2019, nearly all limitations on foreign student enrolment in the country’s universities were removed.

The number of international students in Türkiye has grown by six times over the past decade to reach nearly 340,000 as of 2025. The country’s foreign enrolment now generates an estimated US$3 billion per year in direct student spending on tuition fees and living expenses.

The Turkish government, meanwhile, has set its sights higher and now aims to attract 500,000 international students by 2028.

Increasing expertise and programmes in AI and computing

According to Stanford University’s 2025 AI Index, Türkiye places in the top 10 in Europe for AI master’s graduates (6th) and AI PhD graduates (5th). It has the fastest rate of growth in Europe in terms of AI PhD candidates. And it is graduating more AI students at the associate level than any other country except for the US and Spain. Notably, women are graduating with AI degrees at the same rate as men in Türkiye, with women accounting for at least half of all graduates at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD levels. Overall, Türkiye offers 20 AI programmes over 80 higher education institutions.

In computer science, it is even stronger, holding down 3rd place in Europe and offering more than 200 computer science programmes across its universities according to the Turkish Higher Education Council. Many of those programmes are offered in English.

Top sending markets include African countries

The top 10 sending markets for Türkiye based on official government data for 2024/25 are:

• Syria
• Azerbaijan
• Turkmenistan
• Iran
• Iraq
• Kazakhstan
• Egypt
• Afghanistan
• Somalia
• Pakistan

Asian countries account for about three-quarters of international students in Türkiye, and African students make up most of the rest of the foreign student body. Over 60,000 African students studied in Türkiye in 2023, up from about 40,000 in 2019, and many of them are on scholarships. Along with Egypt and Somalia, Nigeria also sends many students to Türkiye.

Affordability and quality

The average annual cost of tuition for English-language studies in Türkiye is equivalent to US$500–US$1,500 per year, depending on university and major. These very low tuition fees do not equate with sub-par quality, either. Twenty-six Turkish universities made it into the QS World University regional rankings (Asia) for 2026, with three in the top 500.

Outbound trends

As of 2023, there were just over 50,000 Turkish students abroad for education, including about 35,000 abroad for higher education studies (up 40% from 2019). Germany is by far the top destination, with over 18,000 Turkish students in 2024. This makes Türkiye the third largest sending market for Germany after only India and China.