Migrant arrivals in Italy 2014-2020

In the first two months of 2020, 2.3 thousand migrants arrived by sea in Italy. In 2019, 11.5 thousand migrants arrivals on the Italian coasts. Between 2014 and 2019, the number of migrants setting foot in the country peaked in 2016 at 181 thousand individuals. Among the most frequent nationalities declared upon arrivals, Tunisian and Pakistani ranked first and second. More specifically, 2.6 thousand people declared coming from Tunisia, while 1.2 thousand were Pakistani.

Asylum seekers and minors among the migrants

In September 2019, the largest number of asylum applicants in Italy were from Pakistan. For instance, 779 requests were recorded only in that month. In addition, 218 applicants were from Nigeria, the second most common nationality among the asylum seekers. In the last years, many unaccompanied minors reached the Italian coasts. Between January and October 2019, over a thousand children migrated without their parents into the country.

Contrasting opinions and distorted perceptions

 According to the data published by Ipsos, a part of Italians tend to overestimate the size of the immigrated population. The results of this survey uncovered the presence of distorted perceptions in 2018: people thought that about 28 percent of the Italian population was not born in Italy, whereas the actual percentage was around ten. Furthermore, the public opinion on migration was controversial. In the same year, roughly half of the population perceived migrants as a risk for the Italian economy. On the other hand, 18 percent of Italians believed that migration could be a resource for the country.