Some 5.6 million Italians living abroad

On January 1, 2021, 5,652,080 Italian nationals were living abroad, according to a report released by the Migrantes association.
The report said that this compares to Italy’s resident population of 59.2 million people.

It said that, while national statistics agency ISTAT reported a decrease of almost 384,000 residents in Italy last year, the number of Italian residents abroad actually increased by 166,000, or 3%, in the year the COVID-19 emergency exploded.

The report said that, while the pandemic and the related restrictions held back the number of people leaving the country, the number of children born to Italians living abroad increased.

“It is estimated that the community of Italian descendents around the world numbers 180 million people,” President Sergio Mattarella said in a message for the presentation of the report, stressing that this number did not include the close to six million Italian nationals residing abroad.

“The human, cultural and professional scale of this presence has a priceless value within the sphere of soft power, which makes it possible to position our country among those whose life model enjoys the most appeal and consideration”.

Image by RJA1988 from Pixabay

Via ANSA