Last year, Italy granted more than 101,000 permits for asylum and humanitarian protection, according to the national office of statistics. But fewer people are choosing to become citizens.
A report by the Italian statistics bureau (ISTAT) shows that over 101,000 permits were granted in the country in 2017 for asylum and humanitarian protection, a record-breaking number. The total represented a 30% increase on 2016 and made up 38.5% of all new permits granted. As of January 1, 2018, there were more than 3.7 million non-EU citizens legally residing in Italy, the report said.
85% of asylum seekers are men
The report revealed that over eight in 10 asylum seekers (85.8%) are men. Nigerians made up 23% of the overall total, followed by men from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The three countries together make up 41% of the overall total. There was a 16% rise in new permits granted overall in 2017, with a total of 263,000. However, Italian citizenship was down after a decade of steady increases. Citizenship was granted in 2017 to just over 135,000 people, down 26.4% on 2016, when 185,000 people were granted citizenship.
Data on new citizens
The majority of those who obtained Italian citizenship were Albanian and Moroccan. The highest number of "new Italians" was in Milan, followed by Brescia, Rome, and Bergamo. In the span of five years from 2013 to 2017, nearly 636,000 non-EU citizens obtained Italian citizenship. Nearly nine out of 10 (about 88%) are still residing in Italy.
The number of non-EU citizens legally residing in Italy remains relatively stable, at more than 3.7 million people, the ISTAT report said. The most-represented countries are Morocco, Albania, China, Ukraine, and the Philippines. The first three countries, however, continue to experience a decline, as in the previous two-year period. The most notable decline was seen in people from Morocco (11,670 fewer permits) and Albania (11,498 fewer permits).