Size and characteristics
The immigrant population in Italy has slowly, but quite steadily, increased over the last decade. In 2010, immigrants accounted for less than 8% of the total population, and this share has then increased until 10% in 2019 (Figure 1). Since then, however, the growth has halted, and the first two quarters of 2020 seem to indicate a slight decline in the overall immigrant stock, which could be driven by the pandemic-induced recession.
Figure 1: Immigrant population in Italy is stable, or slightly decreasing
Share of immigrants in total population, Q1 2010 – Q2 2020
EU mobile citizens represent about 30% of the foreign-born population, and their proportion has remained relatively stable over time. Yet, Europeans (from inside and outside the European Union) jointly account for 55% of all immigrants, a figure that is very close to the EU average discussed in Figure 3 in Part I. Of the remaining, 18% are from Africa, 16% from Asia and 11% from the Americas and Oceania (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Most immigrants in Italy are European (within or outside the EU)
Composition of immigrants living in Italy by area of origin
Immigrants are not evenly distributed across Italian regions. On the contrary, their geographic pattern clearly indicates that they tend to settle in the most economically active areas of the country, where labour demand is higher. In fact, more than 12% of residents of Emilia Romagna, Lombardy and Friuli Venezia Giulia are foreign born, and the share is above 10% (i.e. above the Italian average) for all Northern and Central regions (with the exception only of Val d’Aosta), and as low as 4% in Sardinia, or 5% in Apulia. Lombardy is also the only region where less than half of the foreign-born residents are European.
The geographic differences in immigrant concentration are particularly telling because Northern regions, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna in particular, have been the most affected by the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in March. From a purely geographic perspective therefore, immigrants have had a higher likelihood than natives to be exposed to the risk of contagion.
Figure 3: Immigrant presence is higher in Northern and Central Italy
Share of immigrants in total population by region, Q1-Q2 2020
Immigrants in Italy are characterised by levels of education that are not only lower than those of immigrants in other EU countries, but also lower than those of Italian natives (Figure 4). About one in five Italians in the age group 25-64 have a high level of education (defined as having completed tertiary education). Yet, the share of highly educated immigrants in Italy is almost half of that: only 13% of foreigners have a tertiary education degree. Likewise, while slightly more than one in three Italians has a low level of education (defined as having completed no more than lower secondary education), this is the case for one in two immigrants.
Figure 4: Immigrants are on average less educated than natives
Distribution of immigrants and natives by level of education, Q1-Q2 2020
In terms of gender differences, women tend to have higher levels of education than men (Figure 5). This is true both for natives and for Italians. The share of tertiary educated Italian women is 24%, whereas among men this share decreases to 18%. Likewise, while 16% of immigrant women have tertiary education, only 9% of all immigrant men are tertiary educated. At the bottom of the educational distribution, instead, we find 33% of native women and 37% of native men with no more than lower secondary education, but 45% of immigrant women and 55% of immigrant men belong in this category. Overall, the educational distribution of immigrant and natives is more similar for women than for men.
Figure 5: Immigrant and Italian women are more educated than men
Distribution of immigrants and natives by sex and education, Q1-Q2 2020
