Marriages with Syrian women rise by 82 percent in 2016

ANKARA

The number of Syrian women marrying Turkish men has increased by 82 percent from 2015 to 2016.

There were 6,495 Syrian brides in 2016 compared to 3,569 in 2015, according to data released Thursday by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Overall, transnational marriages have increased by 17.8 percent between 2015 and 2016. Those involving a foreign bride increased by 20 percent.

The total number of marriages in 2016 in Turkey amounted to 594,493.

The number of marriages involving foreign female brides totaled 22,583.

Male foreigners accounted for 3,777 grooms -- a 5.9 percent increase from 2015 -- of which 377 were Syrian.

Turkey hosts some 3 million Syrian refugees.

Number of brides by nationality in Turkey in 2015 and 2016:

Number of grooms by nationality in Turkey in 2015 and 2016:

*Reporting by Seval Ocak Adıyaman; Writing by Sibel Ugurlu