Italy, immigration at record levels - Departures of Italians and arrivals of foreigners, at the highest values of the decade
The number of Italians leaving their homeland and foreigners entering the country has risen to its highest level in a decade, official data showed. The figures fuel national concerns about mass exodus, economic decline and emigration.
Italy has elected a right-wing government in 2022 with a mandate to curb migrant arrivals, but it also has a shrinking population and a growing labor shortage, highlighting the need to attract foreign workers. Meanwhile, the country's weak economy and low wages, which are below 1990 levels when inflation is adjusted, have been blamed for many Italians leaving the country.
Last year, more than 382,000 foreigners moved to Italy, up from 378,000 in 2023, the highest number since 2014, according to statistics agency Istat. In the same period, about 156,000 Italians emigrated, up from 114,000 in 2023 and also the highest number since 2014.
The number of migrants entering Italy surpassed the previous decade-high of 301,000 in 2017. The 270,000 citizens who emigrated abroad in the two-year period from 2023 to 2024 were around 40% more than in the previous two years. The data comes from city registration offices, so it does not reflect undocumented migration.
Ukrainians made up the largest national group among those who arrived in 2023-2024, according to Istat, followed by Albanians, Bangladeshis, Moroccans, Romanians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Argentines and Tunisians.
The agency also said that Italy's poor south was continuing to depopulate, noting that almost 1% of residents in Calabria, the region with the lowest per capita income, moved to central or northern areas during the period 2023-2024.
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