Immigration to Italy

File:Italy, foreign residents as a percentage of the total population, 2011.svg

Foreign residents as a percentage of the regional population, 2011

In 2024, Istat estimated that 5,253,658 foreign citizens lived in Italy, representing about 8.9% of the total population. These figures include naturalized foreign-born residents (about 1,620,000 foreigners acquired Italian citizenship from 1999 to 2020, of whom 130,000 did so in 2020) as well as illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers, difficult to determine, are thought to be at least 670,000.

In 2021, around 6,260,000 people residing in Italy have an immigration background (around the 10.6% of the total Italian population).

Starting from the early 1980s, Italy began to attract substantial flows of foreign immigrants. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and, more recently, the 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union, large waves of migration originated from the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (especially Romania, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova and Poland). Another source of immigration is neighbouring North Africa (in particular, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia), with soaring arrivals as a consequence of the Arab Spring. Furthermore, in recent years, growing migration fluxes from Asia-Pacific (notably China, South Asia, and the Philippines) and Latin America have been recorded.

Since the expansion of the European Union, the most recent wave of migration has been from surrounding European states, particularly Eastern Europe, replacing North Africa as the major immigration area.

Romanians made up the largest foreign community in the country (1.073.196; around 10% of them being ethnic Romani people) followed by Albanians (416.229), Moroccans (412,346). and Chinese (308,984). As of 2024, foreign citizens' origins were subdivided as follows: Europe (46.22%), Asia (23.41%), Africa (22.69%), The Americas (7.64%), and Oceania (0.04%).

The distribution of foreigners is largely uneven in Italy: in 2020, 61.2% of foreign citizens lived in Northern Italy (in particular 36.1% in Northwestern Italy and 25.1% in Northeastern Italy), 24.2% in Central Italy, 10.8% in Southern Italy and 3.9% in Insular Italy.

The children born in Italy to foreign mothers were 102,000 in 2012, 99,000 in 2013 and 97,000 in 2014.

Statistics

File:Mappa stranieri in Italia 2023.png

Immigrants by country of origin as of 2023. Italy is home to a large population of migrants from Eastern Europe and North Africa.

File:Festa della Patata 2015.jpg

Senegalese workers at the Potato festival in Vimercate (Lombardy) in 2015

File:Foreign citizens in Italy - 2022.jpg

data analysis of foreign people who live in Italy since 2022

File:Foreign citizens in Italy 2022.jpg

Foreign citizens in Italy - 2022

On foreigners only, for more information dealing with foreigners who have subsequently acquired Italian citizenship refer to Eurostat site.

Total foreign resident population on 1 January

Year	Population
2002	1,341,209 (2.35%)
2003	1,549,373 (2.70%)
2004	1,990,159 (3.45%)
2005	2,402,157 (4.14%)
2006	2,670,514 (4.59%)
2007	2,938,922 (5.03%)
2008	3,432,651 (5.84%)
2009	3,891,295 (6.58%)
2010	4,235,059 (7.14%)
2011	4,570,317 (7.70%)
2012	4,052,081 (6.81%)
2013	4,387,721 (7.28%)
2014	4,922,085 (8.10%)
2015	5,014,437 (8.25%)
2016	5,026,153 (8.28%)
2017	5,047,028 (8.33%)
2018	5,144,440 (8.51%)
2019	4,996,158 (8.35%)
2020	5,039,637 (8.45%)
2021	5,171,894 (8.73%)
2022	5,030,716 (8.52%)
2023	5,141,341 (8.71%)
2024	5,253.658 (8.9%)

Foreign citizens (thus not including naturalized Italians and descendants) by country of origin

Country	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Regions with significant populations
	177,812	Increase248,849	Increase297,570	Increase342,200	Increase625,278	Increase796,477	Increase887,763	Increase968,576	Decrease834,465	Increase933,354	Increase 1,081,400	Increase1,118,776	Increase1,151,395	Increase1,168,552	Increase 1,190,091	Decrease 1,143,859	Increase1,145,718	Decrease 1,076,412	Increase 1,083,771	Decrease 1,081,836	Lazio
	270,383	Increase316,659	Increase348,813	Increase375,947	Increase401,949	Increase441,396	Increase466,684	Increase482,627	Decrease450,908	Increase464,962	Increase495,709	Decrease478,069	Decrease467,687	Decrease448,407	Decrease440,465	Decrease423,212	Decrease421,591	Increase 433,171	Decrease 419,987	Decrease 416,829	Lombardy
	253,362	Increase294,945	Increase319,537	Increase343,228	Increase365,908	Increase 403,592	Increase 431,529	Increase 452,424	Decrease 408,667	Increase 426,791	Increase 454,773	Decrease 441,104	Decrease 437,485	Decrease 420,651	Decrease 416,531	Decrease 406,112	Increase414,249	Increase 428,947	Decrease 420,172	Decrease 415,088	Lombardy
	86,738	Increase111,712	Increase127,822	Increase144,885	Increase156,519	Increase170,265	Increase188,352	Increase209,934	Decrease197,064	Increase223,367	Increase 256,846	Increase 263,659	Increase 271,330	Increase 281,972	Increase 290,681	Decrease 283,430	Increase288,923	Increase 330,495	Decrease 300,216	Increase 307,038	Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
	57,971	Increase93,441	Increase107,118	Increase120,070	Increase132,718	Increase153,998	Increase174,129	Increase200,730	Decrease180,121	Increase191,725	Increase 219,050	Increase 222,039	Increase 230,728	Increase 234,354	Increase 237,047	Decrease227,867	Increase228,560	Increase 235,953	Decrease 225,307	Increase 249,613	Campania
	27,356	Increase35,785	Increase41,631	Increase49,575	Increase55,242	Increase65,529	Increase73,965	Increase82,451	Decrease 81,683	Increase 92,695	Increase 111,223	Increase 113,901	Increase 118,790	Increase 122,428	Increase 131,967	Decrease131,023	Increase138,895	Increase 158,020	Increase 159,003	Increase 174,058	Lombardy
	44,791	Increase54,288	Increase61,847	Increase69,504	Increase77,432	Increase91,855	Increase105,863	Increase121,036	Decrease118,409	Increase128,903	Increase 142,453	Increase 145,879	Increase 150,456	Increase 151,430	Increase 151,791	Decrease147,153	Increase 153,209	Increase 165,512	Decrease 162,492	Increase 167,333	Lombardy
	72,372	Increase82,625	Increase89,668	Increase101,337	Increase105,675	Decrease113,686	Increase123,584	Increase134,154	Decrease129,188	Increase139,835	Increase 162,655	Increase 167,834	Decrease 165,900	Increase 166,459	Increase 167,859	Decrease158,049	Decrease157,665	Increase 165,443	Decrease 158,997	Decrease 158,926	Lombardy
	40,583	Increase52,865	Increase58,879	Increase65,667	Increase69,572	Increase74,599	Increase82,064	Increase 90,365	Decrease 66,932	Increase 76,691	Increase 96,008	Increase 103,471	Increase 109,871	Increase 112,765	Increase 119,513	Increase 119,864	Increase128,095	Increase 139,569	Increase 140,322	Increase 147,797	Lombardy
	27,798	Increase35,509	Increase41,797	Increase46,085	Increase49,344	Increase55,371	Increase 64,859	Increase 75,720	Decrease 71,031	Increase 80,658	Increase 90,615	Decrease 90,336	Increase 101,784	Increase 108,204	Increase 114,198	Increase 116,631	Increase121,609	Increase 135,520	Decrease 134,182	Increase 144,129	Lombardy
	26,383	Increase31,647	Increase34,310	Increase37,733	Increase40,641	Increase44,544	Increase48,674	Increase53,613	Decrease48,220	Increase 56,476	Increase 66,833	Increase 70,775	Increase 77,264	Increase 88,533	Increase 106,069	Increase 114,096	Decrease113,049	Increase 119,089	Increase 119,435	Increase 123,646	Veneto
	46,478	Increase53,941	Increase57,101	Increase59,857	Increase62,620	Increase67,510	Increase72,618	Increase 80,989	Decrease 73,702	Increase 80,325	Increase 90,863	Increase 93,352	Increase 98,176	Increase 101,207	Increase 105,937	Decrease 105,227	Increase106,198	Increase 111,092	Decrease 110,763	Increase 112,598	Lombardy
	39,231	Increase45,572	Increase50,528	Increase56,745	Increase61,064	Decrease68,738	Increase75,343	Increase81,094	Increase 71,573	Increase 79,530	Increase 95,007	Increase 100,368	Increase 102,316	Increase 104,908	Increase 107,967	Decrease 104,763	Increase107,598	Increase 112,018	Decrease 108,069	Increase 109,828	Veneto
	24,645	Increase37,971	Increase47,632	Increase55,803	Increase68,591	Increase89,424	Increase105,600	Increase130,948	Increase132,175	Increase139,734	Increase 149,434	Decrease 143,442	Decrease 142,266	Decrease 135,661	Decrease 131,814	Decrease 122,762	Decrease118,516	Increase 122,667	Decrease 114,914	Decrease 109,804	Emilia Romagna
	68,630	Increase78,230	Increase83,564	Increase88,932	Increase93,601	Increase100,112	Increase103,678	Increase106,291	Decrease82,997	Increase88,291	Increase97,317	Decrease93,795	Increase95,645	Decrease94,064	Decrease93,795	Decrease90,615	Increase93,350	Increase 97,407	Increase 99,002	Increase 102,422	Lazio
	43,009	Increase53,378	Increase59,269	Increase66,506	Increase70,755	Increase77,629	Increase87,747	Increase98,603	Decrease93,841	Increase99,173	Increase109,851	Decrease108,465	Decrease98,176	Increase99,110	Decrease97,379	Decrease91,859	Decrease91,662	Increase 96,546	Decrease 94,131	Increase 98,733	Lazio
	40,314	Increase50,974	Increase60,823	Increase72,457	Increase90,218	Increase99,389	Increase106,608	Increase109,018	Decrease84,749	Increase88,839	Increase97,566	Decrease96,285	Increase97,986	Decrease97,062	Decrease95,727	Decrease88,803	Decrease86,743	Decrease 77,779	Decrease 74,981	Decrease 74,387	Lazio
	33,506	Increase53,220	Increase61,953	Increase68,880	Increase73,235	Increase80,070	Increase85,940	Increase91,625	Decrease80,333	Increase82,791	Increase91,861	Decrease90,680	Decrease87,427	Decrease83,120	Decrease80,377	Decrease74,661	Decrease72,644	Decrease 72,193	Decrease 66,590	Decrease 63,211	Lombardy
	22,533	Increase25,823	Increase30,375	Increase34,342	Increase37,848	Increase41,476	Increase44,067	Increase46,690	Decrease37,567	Increase39,157	Increase43,202	Decrease41,972	Increase43,783	Increase45,410	Increase48,022	Increase49,445	Increase51,790	Decrease 50,666	Decrease 47,318	Increase 51,125	Lombardy
	51,208	Increase58,460	Increase63,245	Increase74,162	Increase78,090	Increase89,066	Increase92,847	Decrease89,900	Decrease73,972	Increase76,608	Increase78,424	Decrease72,175	Increase73,512	Decrease67,969	Decrease65,347	Decrease60,581	Decrease55,816	Decrease55,771	Decrease53,443	Decrease51,090	Tuscany
	11,467	Increase15,374	Increase17,746	Increase19,924	Increase33,477	Increase40,880	Increase46,026	Increase51,134	Decrease42,000	Increase47,872	Increase54,932	Increase55,759	Increase58,001	Increase58,620	Increase59,254	Decrease56,593	Increase56,645	Decrease 50,355	Decrease 49,205	Increase 49,518	Lombardy
	29,252	Increase32,754	Increase34,499	Increase36,540	Increase38,400	Increase42,327	Increase44,353	Increase46,890	Decrease44,364	Increase48,575	Increase51,602	Decrease49,961	Decrease48,637	Decrease48,138	Increase49,940	Decrease49,797	Decrease49,543	Increase 50,778	Decrease 48,280	Decrease 47,335	Emilia Romagna
	14,311	Increase17,188	Increase18,689	Increase20,459	Increase21,523	Increase23,201	Increase25,786	Increase30,504	Decrease28,604	Increase30,948	Increase34,483	Increase34,702	Increase35,791	Increase36,361	Increase37,384	Decrease36,512	Increase37,424	Increase 39,746	Decrease 36,982	Increase 39,705	Lombardy
Template:KOS						7,625	Increase16,234	Increase22,778	Increase40,475	Increase43,751	Increase46,248	Decrease42,550	Increase43,091	Decrease41,344	Decrease40,371	Decrease39,630	Decrease38,645	Increase38,860	Decrease37,064	Decrease36,372
	34,664	Increase35,559	Increase36,834	Increase38,135	Increase40,163	Increase41,476	Increase42,302	Increase42,531	Decrease34,936	Increase35,576	Increase38,136	Decrease31,776	Increase36,661	Decrease36,660	Increase36,806	Decrease35,442	Decrease35,316	Decrease 35,091	Decrease 32,984	Increase 34,003	Lombardy
						57,826	Decrease53,875	Decrease52,954	Decrease43,022	Increase43,816	Increase46,958	Decrease41,708	Increase42,264	Decrease39,937	Decrease39,690	Decrease35,578	Decrease33,322	Decrease32,898	Decrease 31,342	Decrease 30,835	Lombardy
	26,428	Increase26,951	Increase28,021	Increase29,205	Increase30,803	Increase32,079	Increase32,956	Increase33,400	Decrease23,985	Increase25,016	Increase29,078	Decrease27,436	Increase28,634	Increase29,281	Increase29,991	Decrease29,008	Increase29,721	Increase 31,354	Decrease 28,735	Increase 29,942	Lombardy
	13,904	Increase15,286	Increase16,725	Increase17,892	Increase18,591	Increase20,583	Increase22,920	Increase24,529	Decrease23,020	Increase25,405	Increase28,623	Decrease28,277	Decrease28,202	Decrease28,002	Increase28,451	Decrease28,208	Increase29,111	Increase 30,255	Decrease 28,812	Increase 29,571	Lombardy
Template:Country data Georgia	447	Increase569	Increase675	Increase811	Increase1,012	Increase1,482	Increase2,734	Increase6,520	Increase7,083	Increase9,123	Increase12,124	Increase13,688	Increase14,045	Increase14,603	Increase15,203	Decrease15,021	Increase15,667	Increase18,272	Increase22,907	Increase29,222	Tuscany
	11,435	Increase13,228	Increase14,378	Increase15,637	Increase17,132	Increase19,408	Increase21,222	Increase22,665	Decrease20,878	Increase23,563	Increase25,953	Decrease25,174	Decrease25,056	Increase26,159	Increase30,271	Increase31,001	Decrease30,038	Decrease 29,673	Decrease 28,385	Increase 28,559	Lombardy
	14,019	Increase14,837	Increase15,503	Increase16,292	Increase17,354	Increase18,258	Increase19,094	Increase19,887	Decrease15,129	Increase17,021	Increase20,682	Increase21,001	Increase22,593	Increase23,828	Increase24,870	Increase24,936	Increase25,954	Increase 32,637	Decrease 26,417	Increase 27,854	Lombardy
	20,972	Increase22,318	Increase23,324	Increase24,673	Increase26,448	Decrease28,174	Increase29,184	Increase29,560	Decrease22,839	Increase23,744	Increase26,377	Decrease25,523	Increase26,634	Increase27,208	Increase28,168	Decrease27,857	Increase29,654	Increase 30,325	Decrease 28,355	Decrease 27,758	Lombardy
	10,149	Increase11,363	Increase12,927	Increase14,073	Increase14,581	Increase15,883	Increase16,878	Increase17,947	Decrease16,350	Increase17,538	Increase19,316	Increase19,560	Increase20,662	Increase20,986	Increase21,418	Decrease21,417	Increase22,311	Increase22,958	Decrease21,499	Increase23,531	Lombardy
El Salvador	4,240	Increase5,085	Increase5,509	Increase5,895	Increase6,144	Increase6,552	Increase7,213	Increase8,739	Increase9,235	Increase10,443	Increase11,809	Increase12,973	Increase13,007	Increase13,492	Increase14,626	Increase15,437	Increase16,270	Increase20,038	Increase20,608	Increase22,693	Lombardy
Gambia	541	Increase628	Increase650	Increase676	Increase748	Increase825	Increase912	Increase1,033	Decrease941	Increase1,244	Increase1,630	Increase3,271	Increase8,016	Increase13,780	Increase19,567	Increase22,075	Decrease21,336	Increase22,213	Decrease21,826	Increase22,637	Sicily
Mali	547	Increase642	Increase702	Increase735	Increase832	Increase992	Increase1,090	Increase1,263	Decrease1,252	Increase2,946	Increase4,470	Increase6,098	Increase10,369	Increase14,768	Increase19,134	Increase20,078	Decrease19,350	Increase20,015	Decrease20,008	Increase21,032	Campania
Colombia	13,989	Increase15,843	Increase16,810	Increase17,640	Increase17,890	Increase18,615	Increase19,573	Increase20,571	Decrease17,086	Increase17,880	Increase19,661	Decrease18,956	Decrease18,777	Decrease17,968	Decrease17,956	Decrease17,539	Increase18,053	Increase19,848	Decrease19,025	Increase20,856	Lombardy
	20,152	Increase22,436	Increase24,142	Increase26,298	Increase27,356	Increase30,124	Increase31,341	Increase31,972	Decrease28,015	Increase28,996	Increase29,831	Decrease28,120	Decrease27,199	Decrease25,791	Decrease25,034	Decrease22,944	Decrease21,911	Decrease21,442	Decrease21,234	Decrease20,454	Veneto
Turkey	9,130	Increase11,077	Increase12,359	Increase13,532	Increase14,562	Increase16,225	Increase17,651	Increase19,068	Decrease16,354	Increase17,711	Increase19,951	Decrease19,450	Decrease19,388	Decrease19,217	Increase19,509	Decrease18,780	Increase19,168	Increase20,999	Decrease18,930	Increase20,080	Lombardy
	15,493	Increase18,736	Increase20,202	Increase21,519	Increase22,672	Increase24,387	Increase25,449	Increase25,935	Decrease20,725	Increase21,801	Increase23,095	Decrease21,899	Decrease21,765	Decrease20,437	Decrease19,823	Decrease18,507	Decrease18,468	Increase18,538	Decrease17,998	Increase18,095	Campania
Afghanistan	172	Increase198	Increase312	Increase442	Increase1,063	Increase2,198	Increase3,372	Increase3,811	Decrease3,512	Increase4,813	Increase6,635	Increase7,330	Increase8,574	Increase11,224	Increase11,738	Decrease10,600	Increase11,121	Increase12,199	Increase13,547	Increase16,872	Lazio
Iran	6,405	Increase6,550	Increase6,566	Increase6,850	Increase6,913	Increase6,983	Increase7,106	Increase7,444	Decrease5,962	Increase7,273	Increase8,995	Increase9,540	Increase10,304	Increase10,794	Increase11,565	Increase11,837	Increase12,866	Increase14,255	Decrease14,009	Increase16,490	Lombardy
United States of America	14,132	Increase14,155	Increase14,433	Increase14,904	Increase15,036	Increase15,324	Increase15,708	Decrease15,620	Decrease12,184	Increase13,165	Increase14,963	Decrease14,145	Increase14,512	Increase14,649	Increase15,004	Decrease14,966	Increase15,393	Increase18,837	Decrease14,496	Increase15,582	Lazio
Croatia	19,890	Increase20,712	Increase21,232	Increase21,360	Decrease21,308	Increase21,511	Decrease21,261	Decrease21,079	Decrease16,708	Increase17,051	Increase17,999	Decrease17,375	Increase18,052	Decrease17,698	Decrease17,573	Decrease16,591	Decrease16,285	Increase17,362	Decrease15,754	Decrease15,514	Lombardy
Cameroon	3,682	Increase4,672	Increase5,529	Increase6,249	Increase6,940	Increase7,994	Increase9,175	Increase10,324	Decrease8,830	Increase10,071	Increase11,880	Increase12,298	Increase12,738	Increase13,308	Increase14,529	Increase15,170	Increase15,329	Increase15,581	Decrease15,013	Increase15,443	Emilia Romagna
Argentina	13,174	Increase13,720	Increase13,907	Decrease13,422	Decrease12,492	Decrease11,842	Decrease11,338	Decrease11,239	Decrease7,896	Increase8,025	Increase8,642	Decrease8,179	Increase8,270	Decrease8,009	Increase8,023	Increase8,169	Increase9,117	Decrease9,091	Increase10,522	Increase14,662	Lombardy
Burkina Faso	5,545	Increase7,012	Increase7,949	Increase8,543	Increase8,960	Increase10,493	Increase11,784	Increase13,051	Decrease12,752	Increase14,007	Increase15,301	Decrease14,797	Decrease14,657	Decrease14,306	Increase14,435	Decrease14,051	Decrease13,979	Increase14,236	Decrease14,167	Increase14,204	Lombardy
Venezuela	4,245	Increase4,579	Increase4,913	Increase5,114	Increase5,219	Increase5,339	Increase5,580	Increase5,808	Decrease4,787	Increase5,138	Increase5,506	Increase5,594	Increase5,849	Increase6,327	Increase7,347	Increase8,981	Increase10,316	Increase12,135	Decrease12,033	Increase13,548	Lombardy
Bolivia	2,508	Increase3,637	Increase4,127	Increase4,800	Increase6,043	Increase6,796	Increase8,855	Increase12,268	Decrease11,774	Increase12,357	Increase13,919	Increase14,384	Decrease14,243	Decrease14,076	Decrease13,955	Decrease13,277	Decrease13,141	Increase13,271	Decrease12,924	Increase12,930	Lombardy
Guinea	1,259	Increase1,604	Increase1,813	Increase2,014	Increase2,268	Increase2,679	Increase2,991	Increase3,360	Decrease3,297	Increase3,896	Increase4,371	Increase4,425	Increase4,928	Increase6,897	Increase11,240	Increase12,728	Decrease12,213	Increase12,255	Decrease11,796	Increase11,880	Lombardy
Somalia	5,963	Increase6,094	Increase6,249	Increase6,414	Decrease6,237	Increase6,663	Increase7,728	Increase8,112	Decrease4,586	Increase5,235	Increase6,878	Increase7,677	Increase7,903	Increase8,228	Increase9,102	Decrease8,626	Decrease8,515	Decrease7,629	Increase8,370	Increase9,349	Lazio
Belarus	2,095	Increase2,791	Increase3,258	Increase3,767	Increase4,265	Increase5,062	Increase5,952	Increase6,975	Decrease6,654	Increase7,446	Increase8,177	Increase8,195	Increase8,529	Increase8,636	Increase8,885	Decrease8,704	Increase8,808	Increase9,269	Decrease8,811	Increase9,248	Lombardy
Netherlands	6,787	Increase6,989	Increase7,356	Increase7,752	Increase8,165	Increase8,521	Increase8,651	Increase8,695	Decrease7,163	Increase7,378	Increase7,856	Decrease7,616	Increase8,106	Increase8,243	Increase8,344	Decrease8,184	Increase8,283	Increase10,092	Decrease8,367	Increase8,820	Lombardy
Eritrea	4,900	Increase5,634	Increase7,090	Increase8,972	Increase11,386	Increase11,911	Increase12,967	Increase13,368	Decrease8,074	Increase8,752	Increase11,187	Decrease10,570	Decrease9,597	Decrease9,394	Decrease9,343	Decrease8,141	Decrease8,035	Decrease6,912	Decrease6,575	Decrease6,404
Rest of Europe	118,159	119,870	128,299	132,310	143,602	80,381	86,342	87,261	69,066	74,661	81,868	73,734		63,622	62,334		66,817		81,254	84,149
Rest of North Africa and Western/Central Asia	15,540	16,719	17,543	18,565	19,366	20,449	21,572	22,786	16,812	18,976	22,772	22,756		44,526	47,513				31,296	34,572
Rest of South Asia	266	329	426	466	514	608	701	860	787	928	1,189	1,258		1,516	1,630				1,729	1,816
Rest of East and South-East Asia	15,354	16,703	17,501	18,666	19,358	20,367	21,382	22,218	17,067	18,842	22,267	20,939		22,895	19,877				22,777	23,840
Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa	34,102	37,591	41,013	45,630	48,563	51,619	54,091	55,272	43,548	48,293	54,281	52,842		52,591	54,501		59,385		51,002	52,056
Rest of Americas	13,066	13,954	14,713	15,492	15,716	16,567	17,324	18,746	14,517	16,023	18,317	17,643		18,406	20,796				20,103	21,785
Europe	904,490 (1.57%)	1,111,199 (1.92%)	1,249,605 (2.15%)	1,380,974 (2.36%)	1,771,308 (3.01%)	2,067,868 (3.50%)	2,251,635 (3.80%)	2,422,399 (4.08%)	2,134,986 (3.59%)	2,298,498 (3.82%)	2,564,208 (4.22%)	2,546,281 (4.19%)	2,601,313	2,588,451 (4.28%)	2,600,748 (4.31%)		2,609,690 (4.33%)		2,378,907 (4.03%)	2,397,731 (4.06%)
North Africa and Western/Central Asia	409,762 (0.71%)	479,691 (0.83%)	519,325 (0.89%)	559,104 (0.96%)	593,606 (1.01%)	647,829 (1.10%)	691,783 (1.17%)	730,833 (1.23%)	625,532 (1.05%)	666,657 (1.11%)	735,035 (1.21%)	725,703 (1.19%)	741,090	729,064 (1.21%)	735,681 (1.22%)				764,636 (1.30%)	783,766 (1.33%)
South Asia	139,614 (0.24%)	171,681 (0.30%)	196,541 (0.34%)	222,817 (0.38%)	244,659 (0.42%)	284,299 (0.48%)	324,103 (0.55%)	364,972 (0.61%)	346,995 (0.58%)	387,527 (0.64%)	447,122 (0.74%)	459,072 (0.76%)	474,736	488,486 (0.81%)	507,553 (0.84%)				579,022 (0.98%)	614,036 (1.04%)
East and South-East Asia	174,464 (0.30%)	211,040 (0.36%)	234,991 (0.40%)	264,888 (0.45%)	281,552 (0.48%)	304,318 (0.51%)	333,318 (0.56%)	366,306 (0.62%)	343,319 (0.58%)	382,044 (0.63%)	441,768 (0.73%)	452,432 (0.74%)	459,572	471,326 (0.78%)	478,417 (0.79%)				481,990 (0.82%)	489,804 (0.83%)
Sub-Saharan Africa	170,267 (0.30%)	195,447 (0.34%)	211,283 (0.36%)	229,000 (0.39%)	244,727 (0.42%)	266,965 (0.45%)	287,605 (0.49%)	309,940 (0.52%)	270,444 (0.45%)	303,383 (0.50%)	345,249 (0.57%)	351,240 (0.58%)	369,567	397,309 (0.66%)	444,058 (0.74%)				455,620 (0.77%)	465,143 (0.79%)
Americas	188,455 (0.33%)	230,043 (0.40%)	255,661 (0.44%)	278,960 (0.48%)	293,550 (0.50%)	316,676 (0.54%)	343,143 (0.58%)	372,385 (0.63%)	328,590 (0.55%)	347,095 (0.58%)	385,670 (0.63%)	380,828 (0.63%)	376,556	369,555 (0.61%)	373,354 (0.62%)				368,061 (0.62%)	388,227 (0.66%)
Oceania	2,562 (<0.01%)	2,460 (<0.01%)	2,486 (<0.01%)	2,536 (<0.01%)	2,527 (<0.01%)	2,547 (<0.01%)	2,618 (<0.01%)	2,642 (<0.01%)	1,821 (<0.01%)	1,921 (<0.01%)	2,220 (<0.01%)	2,015 (<0.01%)	2,104 (<0.01%)	2,122 (<0,01%)	2,170 (<0.01%)	2,120 (<0.01%)	2,213 (<0.01%)	2,256 (<0.01%)	1,859 (<0.01%)	1,991 (<0.01%)
Total foreigners	1,990,159 (3.45%)	2,402,157 (4.14%)	2,670,514 (4.59%)	2,938,922 (5.03%)	3,432,651 (5.84%)	3,891,295 (6.58%)	4,235,059 (7.14%)	4,570,317 (7.70%)	4,052,081 (6.81%)	4,387,721 (7.28%)	4,922,085 (8.10%)	5,014,437 (8.25%)	5,026,153 (8.28%)	5,047,028 (8.33%)	5,144,440 (8.51%)	4,996,158 (8.35%)	5,039,637 (8.45%)	5,171,894 (8.73%)	5,030,716 (8.52%)	5,141,341 (8.71%)
Italians	55,694,841 (96.55%)	55,566,843 (95.86%)	55,473,486 (95.41%)	55,499,078 (94.97%)	55,394,349 (94.16%)	55,203,705 (93.42%)	55,041,941 (92.86%)	54,808,683 (92.30%)	55,487,919 (93.19%)	55,846,279 (92.72%)	55,866,915 (91.90%)	55,781,563 (91.75%)	55,639,847 (91.72%)	55,531,972 (91.67%)	55,339,560 (91.50%)	54,820,515 (91.65%)	54,601,851 (91.55%)	54,064,319 (91.27%)	53,999,417 (91.48%)	53,855,860 (91.26%)
Italy	57,685,000	57,969,000	58,144,000	58,438,000	58,827,000	59,095,000	59,277,000	59,379,000	59,540,000	60,234,000	60,789,000	60,796,000	60,666,000	60,579,000	60,484,000	59,816,673	59,641,488	59,236,213	59,030,133	58,997,201

• Turkey has been counted as an Asian country
• Sudan and Mauritania have been counted in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Afghanistan has been counted in South Asia

Prison population

According to the Ministry of Justice, the Italian prison population in 2019 counted 60,769 and of those 32.7% were foreigners. The largest groups came from Morocco (3,651), Albania (2,402), Romania (2,386), Tunisia (2,020), Nigeria (1,665).

Amongst national origins counting more than 5,000 individuals at national level, Algeria, followed by Gambia and Tunisia, had the biggest proportion of detainees (with, respectively, 25.8, 23.7 and 20.7 inmates per 1,000 residents). On the other hand, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines had the lowest proportion of inmates per 1,000 residents (respectively, 0.13, and 0.50 for both Thailand and the Philippines).

Public opinion

In 2018, a poll by Pew Research found that a majority (71%) wanted fewer immigrants to be allowed into the country, 18% wanted to keep the current level and 5% wanted to increase immigration.

A 2019 poll by Yougov showed that 53% thought authorities should not accept more refugees from conflict areas, 25% were in favour of more refugees and 19% were undecided.

According to poll published by Corriere della Sera in 2019, one of two respondents (51%) approved closing Italy's ports to further boat migrants arriving via the Mediterranean, while 19% welcomed further boat migrants.

In 2021, 77% of Italians thought the current immigrant influx was too high, as underlined by a poll published by La Repubblica and carried out by YouGov.

Mediterranean Sea crossings crisis

File:2015 sicily.jpg

Asylum seekers arrive in Sicily, 2015. The Arab Spring and the Syrian War created factors that led to a migrant crisis that saw hundred of thousands of boat-dwellers seeking refuge in Italy and other Mediterranean countries.

Due to the peninsula geographical position and close proximity to the North Africa coast, the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea has historically been the most used route for undocumented migrants. This route has become gradually more prominent, as flow through other routes to the EU gradually faded and political turmoil in Libya caused a general weakening of borders and coastal control, opening opportunities to people smuggling organisations.

The principal destination for sea crossings boats and rafts are the southernmost Italian territories, the Pelagie Islands. These islands are 113 km from Tunisia, 167 from Libya and 207 from Sicily.

The close distance between these islands and the African mainland has caused people smuggling organisations to employ boats and rafts otherwise hardly seaworthy, generally vastly filled above their capacity. Official reports list boats filled up to 2 or 3 times nominal capacity, including the use of rubber dinghies. This has led to several accidents at sea, as in 2007, the 2009, the 2011, the 2013, 2015. These accidents have become harder to document between 2014 and 2017, as people smuggling organisations changed their tactics: instead of aiming for a full crossing of the sea towards Lampedusa, their boats aimed just to exit Libyan territorial waters and then trigger rescue operation from passing mercantile vessels, seek and rescue organisations, Italian and Maltese coastguards and militaries. As per the United Nations Convention of the Sea, of which Italy is a subscriber, people rescued at sea have to be transported to the closest safe harbor: as Libya continues to be in political turmoil this means they are transported to Italy.

Once in Italy, the EU Dublin Regulation requires migrants to apply for legal residence, protection or asylum permits in the first EU country they cross into, effectively barring them from legally crossing internal EU borders until their case has been processed and positively concluded. As the vast majority of migrant people landing in Italy targets destinations in Central and Northern European States, there is a tendency to avoid filing permits applications in Italy and rather try a northwards land journey.

File:Refugees and migrants arriving in Italy by sea, 1997–2021.png

Refugees and migrants arriving in Italy by sea, 1997–2021

As a reaction to the gradual increase in migration flows through the Mediterranean Sea, Italian governments stepped up cooperation with Tunisian and Libyan authorities to halt activities of people smuggling organisation on land, as well as to allow boats rescued from the Italian Military in international waters to be towed back to the port where they left from. This policy, enacted in 2004 and 2005, sparked controversies related in particular to the compatibility with Italian and EU laws, as numerous reports documented acts of violence from Libyan authorities on migrant people. The policy was openly criticised by the EU Parliament.

In 2008, Berlusconi's government in Italy and Gaddafi's government in Libya signed a treaty including cooperation between the two countries in stopping unlawful migration from Libya to Italy; this led to a policy of forcibly returning to Libya boat migrants intercepted by the Italian coast guard at sea. The cooperation collapsed following the outbreak of the Libyan civil war in 2011. In 2012 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by returning migrants to Libya, as it exposed the migrants to the risk of being subjected to ill-treatment in Libya and violated the prohibition of collective expulsions., thus effectively ending the policy.

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Rescued male migrants are brought to southern Italian ports, 28 June 2015

In 2009, as the flow of migrants picked up again, the overcrowded conditions at the Pelagie Islands' temporary immigrant reception centre came under criticism by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The unit, which was originally built for a maximum capacity of 850 people, was reported to be housing nearly 2,000 boat people. A significant number of people were sleeping outdoors under plastic sheeting. A fire started as an inmate riot destroyed a large portion of the holding facility on 19 February 2009.

In 2011, as Arab Spring rebellions in Tunisia and Libya disrupted government control over borders and coasts, by May 2011, more than 35,000 immigrants had arrived on the island of Lampedusa from Tunisia and Libya. By the end of August, 48,000 had arrived. As migration and asylum policies are exclusive responsibilities of each member State, the increased migration pressure at the EU Southern border sparked tensions between EU States on how to differentiate between people migrating due to economic reasons, which in principle are regarded as unlawful immigrants and thus are forced to leave or deported, and people fleeing violence or persecution for religious, sexual orientation, political reasons, who can be granted asylum rights. As the Libyan authoritarian governments struggled to keep control of the country, it allowed an increase in northbound migrant flows as a tactic to pressure Italy and the EU not to militarily intervene in the country, as Gaddafi feared his regime would be overthrown.

Some Italian towns and cities disobeyed instructions from the national government to house migrants. The Mafia Capitale investigation revealed that the Italian Mafia profited from the migrant crisis and exploited refugees. The murder of Ashley Ann Olsen in her Italian apartment by an illegal immigrant from Senegal rapidly acquired political significance in the context of the European migrant crisis. The police chief of Florence addressed safety concerns and "assur[ed] the public that Florence remained safe" in the wake of the Olsen murder.

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Eritrean migrants in Messina, October 2015

Since 2014, thousands of migrants have tried every month to cross the Central Mediterranean to Italy, risking their lives on unsafe boats including fishing trawlers. Many of them were fleeing poverty-stricken homelands or war-torn countries and sought economic opportunity within the EU. Italy, and, in particular, its southern island of Lampedusa, received enormous numbers of Africans and Middle-Easterners transported by smugglers and NGOs operating along the ungoverned coast of the failed state of Libya.

There were 153,842 Mediterranean sea arrivals to Italy in 2015, 9 percent less than the previous year; most of the refugees and migrants came from Eritrea, Nigeria, and Somalia, whereas the number of Syrian refugees sharply decreased, as most of them took the Eastern Mediterranean route from Turkey to Greece.

The first three months of 2016 saw an increase in the number of migrants rescued at sea being brought to southern Italian ports. In April 2016, nearly 6,000 mostly sub-Saharan African migrants landed in Italy in four days. In June 2016, over 10,000 migrants were rescued in four days. In 2016, 181,100 migrants arrived in Italy by sea.

In April 2017, more than 8,000 migrants were rescued near Libya and brought to Italy in three days. From January to November 2017, approximately 114,600 migrants arrived in Italy by sea. Approximately 5,000 African migrants were rescued in waters off the coast of Libya between 18 and 20 May 2017.

Since 2013, Italy took in over 700,000 migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa.

In September 2023, Boats, carrying roughly 7,000 migrants—more than the total population of Lampedusa—arrived on the island within the span of 24 hours.

In 2023, 155,754 migrants arrived in Italy, up from 103,846 in 2022.

Controversies regarding NGOs

After 2015, as an increased use of unseaworthy vessels by people smuggling organisations caused a marked increase in accidents at sea involving loss of lives, several European NGOs have started seek and rescue operations in close coordination with Italian Navy and coast guard units. These operations often happen close to Libyan territorial waters at the same time in order not to unlawfully enter Libyan jurisdictions and yet ensure migrants' safety. As per UNCLOS, rescued people are brought to the closer safe harbor, which is in most cases on Italian shore. This effectively means NGOs vessels are covering most of the distance between Libyan and Italian coast. Right-wing Italian newspapers and activists picked on that to make various claims, among which that NGOs active in migrants' assistance and rescue at sea would reap financial profits from their collaboration with the Italian authorities, or that some NGOs are part of unlawful people smuggling operations in coordination with operatives on Libyan coast, and funded by international criminal groups and financial institutions interested in developing political turmoil in Italy. The Italian Parliament investigated these claims and has found them to be unsubstantiated, with no further actions. Regardless of this, right-wing newspapers have continued campaigning against Italian and foreign NGOs.

File:Aquarius-Karte prov.jpg

This map shows the journey of Aquarius Dignitus in June 2018, which was refused to dock in Malta and Italy before being granted access by the recently installed left-wing government in Spain.

In August 2017 the ship "Iuventa" operated by the German NGO "Jugend Rettet" (youth to the rescue) was impounded on the island of Lampedusa on the order of an Italian prosecutor on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration. Jugend Rettet is one of the six out of nine NGOs which refused to sign a new code of conduct by the Italian government covering migrant rescues in the Mediterranean. The prosecutor alleged that there were "contacts, meetings and understandings" between the boat's crew and the smugglers. No crew members from the "Iuventa" had been charged and the prosecutor admitted that their motive was likely humanitarian. (Five out of eight refused to sign the new code of conduct, according to a Guardian article, the others refusing to sign being MSF, the Germany groups Sea-Watch, Sea-Eye and Jugend Rettet, and France's SOS Mediterranée '[all of whom] abstained'. 'MSF, SOS Mediterranée and Jugend Rettet... called for clarification of the rules' while MOAS and Spanish group Proactiva Open Arms agreed to the conditions, and Save the Children 'backed the measures'.)

The Conte I Cabinet, influenced by hard-line Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, refused to let migrant ships dock in its waters. On 10 June 2018, Salvini announced the closure of Italian ports, stating that "Everyone in Europe is doing their own business, now Italy is also raising its head. Let's stop the business of illegal immigration." The vessel Aquarius, which is operated jointly by Médecins Sans Frontières and SOS Méditerranée and carried more than 600 migrants, was refused a port of disembarkation by the Italian authorities despite having been told to rescue the migrants by the same co-ordination centre. The Italian authority told the vessel to ask Malta to provide a disembarkation port, but Malta has also refused. On the following day, the new Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accepted the disputed migrant ship. On 12 June 2019, the Sea Watch 3 ship picked up 53 migrants in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast. Sea Watch 3 rejected an offer to dock at Tripoli, which is considered unsafe by humanitarian organizations, and headed toward Lampedusa. According to a report by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and NGOs this was the nearest safe harbor per maritime law. On 14 June, Italy closed its ports to migrant rescue ships. Salvini refused to allow the ship to dock until other European nations had agreed to take the migrants. Ten of the migrants, including children, pregnant women, and those who were ill, were allowed to disembark. On 29 June, without authorization, ship's captain Carola Rackete decided to dock. The motivation for this was that according to her the passengers were exhausted. Rackete was arrested by the Italian authorities after docking. Matteo Salvini accused Rackete of trying to sink an Italian patrol boat that was attempting to intercept her, calling the incident an act of war and demanding the Netherlands government intervention. However, on 2 July, Rackete was released from house arrest after a court ruling that she had broken no laws and acted to protect passengers' safety.

In August 2019, Salvini announced a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Conte, after growing tensions within the majority. Salvini's alleged gambit failed, as Conte successfully negotiated the formation of a new cabinet with centre-left Democratic Party, which completely changed the immigration policy of the previous government, returning to receive NGO ships in Italian ports.

Italian naval mission to Libyan waters

On 2 August 2017, Italy's parliament authorized a limited naval mission to Libyan waters aimed at supporting the country's coastguard in the fight against illegal migration. Italy sent two patrol boats at the request of the UN-backed government in Tripoli and insisted it had no intention of violating Libyan sovereignty. However, General Khalifa Haftar, who controls most of eastern Libya, threatened to use his own forces to repel the Italians.

Comparison with other European Union countries 2023

According to Eurostat 59.9 million people lived in the European Union in 2023 who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 13.35% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (9.44%) were born outside the EU and 17.5 million (3.91%) were born in another EU member state.

Country	Total population (1000)	Total Foreign-born (1000)	%	Born in other EU state (1000)	%	Born in a non EU state (1000)	%
EU 27	448,754	59,902	13.3	17,538	3.9	31,368	6.3
Germany	84,359	16,476	19.5	6,274	7.4	10,202	12.1
France	68,173	8,942	13.1	1,989	2.9	6,953	10.2
Spain	48,085	8,204	17.1	1,580	3.3	6,624	13.8
Italy	58,997	6,417	10.9	1,563	2.6	4,854	8.2
Netherlands	17,811	2,777	15.6	748	4.2	2,029	11.4
Greece	10,414	1,173	11.3	235	2.2	938	9.0
Sweden	10,522	2,144	20.4	548	5.2	1,596	15.2
Austria	9,105	1,963	21.6	863	9.5	1,100	12.1
Belgium	11,743	2,247	19.1	938	8.0	1,309	11.1
Portugal	10,467	1,684	16.1	378	3.6	1,306	12.5
Denmark	5,933	804	13.6	263	4.4	541	9.1
Finland	5,564	461	8.3	131	2.4	330	5.9
Poland	36,754	933	2.5	231	0.6	702	1.9
Czech Republic	10,828	764	7.1	139	1.3	625	5.8
Hungary	9,600	644	6.7	342	3.6	302	3.1
Romania	19,055	530	2.8	202	1.1	328	1.7
Slovakia	5,429	213	3.9	156	2.9	57	1.0
Bulgaria	6,448	169	2.6	58	0.9	111	1.7
Ireland	5,271	1,150	21.8	348	6.6	802	15.2

See also

• Immigration detention in Italy
• 2015 Mediterranean migration crisis
• List of countries by foreign-born population
• Movies about immigration to Italy
• Lampedusa immigrant reception center

Further reading

• Cusumano, Eugenio, and Kristof Gombeer. "In deep waters: The legal, humanitarian and political implications of closing Italian ports to migrant rescuers." Mediterranean Politics 25.2 (2020): 245–253. online