Italian emigrants grew 15.4 pct in 2016: report

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 01:30:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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ROME, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of Italians who moved to another country rose by 15.4 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, the Migrantes Foundation, a Catholic organization, reported Tuesday.

A total of 124,076 Italians emigrated in 2016, according to the Migrantes report titled "Italians in the World", which compiles data from ISTAT national statistics agency, INPS national pension fund, and the Bank of Italy.

The majority leave for work reasons, since 77 percent of emigrants are adults aged 22-54, the report said.

Most Italian emigrants moved to another European country, primarily Britain, followed by Germany, Switzerland, and France. Other favored destinations included Brazil and the United States, according to the Migrantes report.

A fairly recent trend is that China, Romania, and the United Arab Emirates are now among the first 25 preferred destinations of Italian emigrants, the report shows.

"Over the past three years we've seen a flow of Italian professionals who were hired in China, and also of families who left Italy in hopes of finding better opportunities there," Delfina Licata, who edited the Migrantes "Italians in the World" report, told Xinhua. "They range from artisans, to engineers, to import/export professionals," Licata said.

Another interesting trend, she said, is the flow of Chinese-Italians to China. "They have Italian nationality and they are bilingual (in Italian and Chinese), and this opens up interesting opportunities for them," she explained.

Overall, 55.5 percent of the emigrants in 2016 were men and 62.4 percent were unmarried, according to the report. However there were also entire families moving abroad, including children under 10 years old and grandparents aged over 65. A large portion, or 39 percent, was aged 18-34 -- a 23.3 percent jump compared to 2015.

Another 25 percent were aged 35-49, up 12.5 percent over 2015, while 9.7 percent were aged 50-64, according to the Migrantes report.

The researchers called this latter, older group "the unemployed without a hope" -- professionals who lost their jobs in Italy and faced "enormous difficulties in finding (work) that would allow them to support their families and their lifestyle".

The positive aspect of this flow of people away from Italy is that emigrants carry their homeland within them, according to Migrantes. "The land of origin writes an indelible story in each of its inhabitants, and when he becomes a migrant he will always take it with him, in whatever part of the world he may travel to," the report said.

"The migrant is the best ambassador of the land he has left behind," the report said, calling this "an incentive to the knowledge and appreciation of Italy, as well as a driver of development and economic and cultural growth".

As of January 1 this year, Italy's population numbered just over 60 million, according to ISTAT. Just under 5 million, or 8.2 percent, have emigrated abroad.

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