August 25, 2011 - 11:11 AMT
Most Turks negative about immigration

Turkish people are developing an increasingly negative attitude toward immigration and immigrants in their country, according to a recent survey by Ipsos KMG.

Hurriyet Daily News reports that some 61 percent of Turks think there are too many immigrants in the country, while 6 percent of the population believes immigrants are having a positive effect on the country, said the survey, which was conducted in 24 countries, including the United States, Germany, Australia, China, Saudi Arabia and Mexico, among 19,000 respondents.

On average, 52 percent of respondents believe there are too many immigrants in their home countries, while 48 percent believe immigrants make it more difficult to find jobs. By contrast, 61 percent of Turks believe migrants negatively affect the job market.

80 percent of those surveyed believe the number of immigrants to their country has increased in the past five years, while only 21 percent believe immigrants have a positive effect.