The number of Italians leaving the country and foreigners moving in has hit its highest level in a decade, according to new migration data released by statistics agency Istat on Friday.
The figures have reignited national debate over brain drain, immigration, and the long-term sustainability of Italy’s workforce and economy.
In 2024, 382,071 foreign nationals registered residency in Italy, up slightly from 378,372 the previous year and the highest level since 2014. Over the same period, 155,732 Italians left the country. This represents a sharp rise from 114,057 in 2023 and also the highest since 2014.
The data highlights growing demographic and economic pressures. Italy’s right-wing government, elected in 2022 with a pledge to curb irregular migration, faces a paradox: while trying to restrict arrivals, it must also address labour shortages and a shrinking population.
Istat noted that the recent immigration figure surpassed the previous decade’s peak of 301,000 in 2017 and far exceeded the COVID-era low of 191,766 in 2020.
Ukrainians formed the largest national group among new arrivals in the 2023–2024 period, followed by Albanians, Bangladeshis, Moroccans, Romanians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Argentines, and Tunisians.
On the emigration side, nearly 270,000 Italian nationals left the country over the two-year period – a 40% increase compared to 2021–2022. Istat said that many of those leaving were likely naturalised immigrants moving abroad after gaining Italian citizenship.
Low wages and a stagnant economy are among the reasons pushing Italians to seek opportunities elsewhere. In real terms, salaries in Italy are now lower than they were in 1990, though Meloni claimed the opposite.
Istat also flagged continued depopulation in the country’s poorer south. In Calabria, the region with the lowest per capita income, nearly 1% of residents moved to central or northern regions between 2023 and 2024.
