IDOS Research and Study Centre, in collaboration and with the support of the IOM – International Organization for Migration, has issued the English version of the 2019 Statistical Dossier on Immigration, now available as a PDF at www.dossierimmigrazione.it. The video presentation of the 2019 Dossier can also be downloaded from the same website, both in English and Italian. This Report collects the most important chapters of the original version in Italian, specifically selected and revised for an international audience and for anyone interested in better understanding the situation of immigration in Italy through interesting information and updated data. The rich final annex provides detailed statistical tables concerning both socio-demographic characteristics and labour insertion data on immigrants living in Italy. At present 5.2 million foreigners reside legally in Italy (8.7% of the total population), of which 3.7 million are non-EU citizens. Italy is therefore – after Brexit – the second most important immigration country in the EU after Germany, which hosts in turn 9.7 million foreign residents. The future of our complex and multicultural societies depends on the way we will respond to the challenges and opportunities that such an epochal and irreversible phenomenon presents to each country and to the EU. The structural interconnections between migrations and other global phenomena (e.g. the unequal distribution of goods and resources, the environmental crisis, wars, persecutions and political crises), require concerted and comprehensive international responses. “A deeper study and analysis of significant cases such as the Italian one – says Luca Di Sciullo, president of IDOS Research and Study Centre – helps to concretely understand which unsolved problems and ongoing processes require more effective interventions, including at the international level. It is quite worrisome, on this regard, that in such an important immigration country, as Italy has become, the foreign population, also represented by second and third generations, is still facing problems concerning integration, active participation, inequality of access to the welfare system, discrimination and labour exploitation; and that immigration policies – also regarding reception and citizenship – still have, and create, plenty of difficulties”. In light of this, the English version of the Statistical Dossier on Immigration is a valuable knowledge tool that provides a comprehensive overview of the Italian migration dynamics and contributes to the design and implementation of more efficient policies and actions. “IOM – says Laurence Hart, Director of IOM Coordination Office for the Mediterranean – is proud to jointly present with IDOS the English version of this important report as part of our commitment to support research designed to guide and inform migration policy and practice. The Dossier provides rich and rigorous analyses of immigration dynamics in Italy, offering policymakers and practitioners crucial data and information on salient migration topics. We are confident that these insights can help to better understand the transnational dimensions of migration and can contribute to further enhance policy and international collaboration on this matter”.

For information:
Centro Studi e Ricerche IDOS: idos@dossierimmigrazione.it – www.dossierimmigrazione.it
OIM Ufficio di Coordinamento per il Mediterraneo: www.italy.iom.int