Understanding the Foreign Population in Italy

The Istat platform offers a comprehensive selection of over 100 statistical indicators to shed light on various aspects of life in Italy. As of early 2023, approximately 5 million foreign citizens, both from the EU and non-EU countries, reside in Italy, marking an increase of 111,000 from the previous year. This group represents 8.7% of the total population, with a significant 83.4% residing in the Centre-North regions. Additionally, over 3.7 million non-EU citizens were legally present, with 60% holding long-term residence permits.

Geographical Distribution

Historically, foreign residents have predominantly settled in the Central and Northern parts of Italy. As of January 1, 2023, 83.4% of the foreign population resided in these areas. The Centre-North regions are particularly attractive, as evidenced by the fact that approximately 85% of non-EU residence permits were issued or renewed there, notably in Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto. Interestingly, new entry flows showed significant increases in the South and North-East regions.

Educational Attainment

Despite improvements, the educational level of foreign residents in 2023 still lags behind that of Italians. Around 48.9% of foreigners aged 15 to 64 have only a middle school diploma, compared to 35.6% of Italians in the same age group. Additionally, 40.1% of foreigners have a high school diploma and 11.1% hold a degree, compared to 44.3% and 20.1% of Italians, respectively.

Employment Landscape

The employment landscape reveals persistent disparities between Italians and foreign residents. In 2023, the employment rate for foreigners aged 20-64 was 65.1%, which, although increasing, remains slightly lower than the 66.4% rate for Italians. The unemployment rate for foreigners decreased but still stood at a significantly higher 11.3%, compared to 7.2% for Italians. Conversely, the inactivity rate for foreigners (30.5%) was lower than that of natives (33.6%).

Absolute Poverty

In 2022, Istat indicators highlighted that over 2.18 million families in Italy were living in absolute poverty, representing 8.3% of the total resident families, up from 7.7% in 2021. This equates to over 5.6 million individuals (9.7%), an increase driven largely by rising inflation. Among these, over 1.7 million foreigners were in absolute poverty, with an incidence rate of 34.0%—more than four and a half times higher than that of Italians.

Source: Integrazione Migranti