MigrantoMigration trends in Italy
Europe
Italy takes in more people than it loses: 6.6M immigrants against 2.9M emigrants. Net balance +3.6M — 6% of the country's population
59M
Population
6.6M
Immigrants
2.9M
Emigrants
+3.6M
Inflow
1 in 9 residents of Italy was born abroad — and 1 in 21 people born in Italy lives abroad
#12 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Italy
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
1.5M immigrants · 3.4M emigrants
1995
- Slipped out of the world's 10 largest diasporas
2005
- Romania overtook Switzerland as the largest source of new arrivals
- The country became a destination — more people arriving than leaving
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 54%
- Roughly 1 in 20 residents was now foreign-born
2010
- Surge of immigrants from Romania — 388.2K new arrivals
- Net migration doubled — the surplus reached 2M
2015
- The foreign-born population passed 5M residents
2020
- Germany replaced USA as the main destination for those leaving
- Roughly 1 in 10 residents was now foreign-born
Today
- Since 1990: 5M more foreign-born residents and 412.9K fewer emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Ask Migo
Tap a question — our AI assistant answers it in chat, with real migration data
Where to live?
Score countries, regions and cities by what matters to you
Living in Italy
See the full country overview