5 million foreign citizens were residing in Italy at beginning of 2023

Rome: Over five million foreign people from an EU or non-EU country were residing in Italy at the beginning of 2023.

Compared to the 2022 figures, this number shows Italy has accepted more than 111,000 foreigners to its country in 2023.

Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto are among the top Central-Nothern Italian areas where most foreigners choose to live.

Data provided by Noi Italia has revealed that over five million foreign citizens, both EU and non-EU, were residents in Italy in early 2023 – 111,000 more compared to 2022.

According to Noi Italia, foreign residents represented 8.7 per cent of the total Italian residents at the beginning of last year, Schengen.News reports.

83.4 per cent of foreign citizens residing in Italy are concentrated in the Centre-North. At the same date, just over 3.7 million non-EU citizens are regularly present, 60 per cent of whom have a long-term residence permit.

In 2022, over 449,000 non-EU citizens held Italian resident permits, thus marking an increase of 86.0 per cent compared to 2021.

Due to the refugee crisis in Ukraine, which was the main reason for new entries seeking protection and requisition for asylum (45.1 per cent), the data revealed that in 2022, the number went from around 31,000 to over 200,000.

At the same time, entry to the country for other reasons, such as family reunification and work, increased by 28.1 per cent and 15.0 per cent, respectively, compared to 2021.

Foreigners in Italian territory are likelier to live in the Central-Northern areas. As a result, as of January 1, 2023, 83.4 per cent of foreigners reside in those areas.

Around 85 per cent of residence permits of non-EU citizens were issued or renewed in the Central Northern Italy, especially in regions that are as follows:

The level of education of foreigners among Italians remained lower last year, as approximately 48.9 per cent of foreigners, in the age group between 15 and 64, have obtained at most a middle school diploma, compared to 35.6 per cent of their Italian peers; 40.1 per cent have a high school diploma and 11.1 per cent a university degree, compared to, respectively, 44.3 per cent and 20.1 per cent of Italians in the same age group.

For 65.1 per cent of foreigners aged 20-64, the employment rate increased slightly last year compared to that of their Italian peers, and it is still lower than that of locals (66.4 per cent).

During the same period, the unemployment rate also decreased significantly for foreigners, who, however, continue to present a significantly higher indicative value (11.3 per cent) than that of Italians (7.2 per cent).

According to Eurostat data of 2022, seven immigrants entered Italy for every thousand inhabitants: 411,000 out of a population of 58,997 million. It also revealed that 74,500 held Italian citizenship, and 49,400 chose to move to Italy from another Member State. In addition, 287,000 immigrants from the rest of the world arrived in Italy in 2022.