Immigration in Italy: an overview.

The expansion and the rooting of non European immigrants which is taking place in the more advanced European countries, mirror a world context which is marked by imbalances both in terms of growth and welfare. A correct analysis of migration, of its structural characteristics and of the new dynamics of migration flows must consider the globalisation process as well as the effect that this is having with regard to the movement of people, in this context the pull and push factors mutually reinforce a phenomenon which can influence either in a positive or in a negative way the international relationships among countries. In the last quarter of the century, a steady increase of migrants have crossed Europe; this has generated a complex relationship made of integration and rejection, adaptation and conflicts, which has influenced all aspect of both economic and social life, producing new phenomenon, giving birth to new problems which require new approaches and solutions. Italy is part of such depiction since has witnessed in the last decades, a solid influx of immigrants which have increased with a high rate of growth. In fact in 2006 Italy with 2,938,922 legal immigrants, appears to be among the major destination of migrants in Europe, following Germany, Spain and France with 7,287,980, 3,371,394 and 3,263,186 immigrants respectively and just before Great Britain with 2,857,000 immigrants. Using the available statistical data, disaggregated at national, regional and provincial level, it will be possible to have an overall picture of the phenomenon described above and to compare the Italian case with the events in the other European countries. In this way we can have a better understanding of the process underlying migration in order to identify future scenarios