IOM Rome yesterday launched a report on Italian migration 1951 -
2011, highlighting the country’s transformation from an
impoverished country of emigration 60 years ago to a major
destination country for migrants.

The report, compiled with the Idos Study and Research Centre,
shows that while 300,000 Italians emigrated in 1951, a remarkable
300,000 immigrants arrived in Italy in 2011.

The period covered by the study also tracks IOM’s work in
Italy over the past 60 years in the context of IOM’s 60th
Anniversary Celebrations.

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Website

"From 1946 to 1951 – the year in which IOM was established
– 1,420,000 Italians emigrated to find work and new lives
abroad. In the past five years, from 2006 to 2011, 1,535,000
foreigners came to Italy for exactly the same reason," says IOM
Italy Chief of Mission José Angel Oropeza.

Italy, which formerly regarded as a country migrants transited
en route to northern Europe, is now clearly a country of
destination, according to the report.

Over 4.5 million regular immigrants now live in Italy. They
represent 6.5 per cent of the population, 9 per cent of the work
force, 7.9 per cent of taxpayers and contribute roughly 12.1 per
cent of GDP (EUR 165 billion.)

The number of foreign residents in the country rose from just
over 100,000 in 1951 to 4,570,317 at the beginning of 2011,
representing about 7.5 per cent of the total population. A little
over half of them are women.

Romanians (968,576) are the largest national group, followed by
Albanians (482,627) and Moroccans (452,424). There are also 209,234
Chinese and 200,730 Ukrainians.

The report can be downloaded from the IOM Italy website at: class="paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.italy.iom.int/" target="_blank" title=
"">www.italy.iom.int

For more information, please contact:

Flavio Di Giacomo

IOM Rome

+39 06 44 186 207/228

E-mail: "mailto:iomromepress@iom.int">iomromepress@iom.int