Over the centuries, Italy’s demographic curve has undergone many changes, often in parallel with the demographic evolution of other European countries. The middle of the 14th century plague significantly reduced the population of the peninsula and a long period of population growth completed at the beginning of the 17th century. From the early 18th century until unification in the 1860s, light and steady growth prevailed, although this was interrupted during World War II. Napoleonic Wars. From the second half of the 19th century to the second half of the 20th century, the population more than doubled, despite high levels of emigration. Interestingly, natural population increase has often been highest during decades of high emigration, although there is no obvious causal relationship between the two.
The general ranking of Italy demographic trends remain fairly consistent with those of other advanced Western European countries, which have experienced declining fertility and mortality rates following World War II. The rate of population growth is gradually slowing, with most of the increase coming from immigration; birth rates and death rates are virtually identical. However, national figures hide contrasting regional trends. In general, the birth rate and the average family size is higher in the south of Italy than in the north, although the populations of Molise, BasilicataAnd Calabria are in decline due to continued emigration. THE mortality the rate is slightly lower in the south than in the north due to improved medical care and a younger population; in certain northern regions, notably Liguriapopulations are declining because the birth rate is falling faster than the death rate. For the country in its entirety, life expectancy increased during the second half of the 20th century, reflecting higher nutritional, health and medical standards.
Since the unification of Italy in the mid-19th century, internal movements have followed a regular pattern: from south to north and from east to west. People left the southern regions and Sicily to the central regions of Lazio And Tuscany and in the northwest – to LombardyLiguria and Piedmont. They have moved the same way ever since Veneto to the northwest. Movement of Emilia-Romagna, StepsAnd Umbria to the northwest regions was also significant. Population movements were relatively low during the interwar period, when a permit was required to move within the country. Exceptionally, a significant number of Italians are seeking work in the huge Lingotto vehicle factory run by Decree obtained permits to go to Turin.
After the Second World War and the disappearance of fascismItaly has entered a period of economic growth and high population mobility. The prosperity of urban areas, particularly the industrial triangle Lombardy-Piedmont-Liguria, contrasted with the persistence of hardship and poverty in mountain areas and in rural areas, particularly in the south. The rapid industrialization of urban centers acted as a powerful pull factor, encouraging rural workers to abandon the land and head to cities. THE disparity of wealth and employment between urban and rural areas triggered a period of intense rural exodus from the highlands of the region. Alpsthe Apennines, Sicily and Calabria and an influx of migrants to Rome, MilanTurin and Genoa. This movement continues today, even if the slowdown in economic growth has reduced the “attraction” exerted by industrial zones. Unemployment is high, especially among young people.
In almost a century, between 1876 and 1970, around 25 million Italians left the country in search of work. Among them, 12 million left for external destinations Europe. In the 1860s, transatlantic migration was more common among northern Italians and was often associated with certain occupations; for example, farmers, artists and street vendors tended to migrate to UNITED STATES. However, two decades later, the orient yourself had become a mass phenomenon, with the main migrants coming increasingly from the south. Their main destination was the United States, favored by more than half of the emigrants, the others choosing Argentina, BrazilAnd Canada. Some also went to Australia. In the 1920s, the United States introduced strict immigration laws, and economic conditions in Brazil and Argentina deteriorated so much that transatlantic emigration was blocked. Furthermore, the fascist regime opposed emigration, and during World War II emigration was almost completely stopped. After 1945, destinations were primarily European, with the most popular being France first and then West Germany And Swiss. During this period, the nature of emigration patterns changed, becoming less stable. In many cases, the emigrants were mostly men, as some European countries refused entry to relatives of workers due to lack of housing. Often, Italian workers stayed abroad for short periods and returned to Italy from time to time. On the eve of 1973 oil embargomore than 850,000 Italians worked in Switzerland and in the countries of European Economic Community (EEC; later succeeded by the European Union (EU)), where the ensuing recession and rising unemployment forced many Italians to return home.
In 1972, Italy recorded for the first time more people entering the country than leaving, partly due to repatriation but also due to immigration Since AsiaAfrica and Latin America. For several years, the scale of influx It was difficult to estimate the number of non-European immigrants because no policies existed to measure or control it until the mid-1980s. The collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe led to new waves of immigration Poland, Romania, Albaniaand the Yugoslav region. Many arrived via seaports on the Adriatic coast, claiming refugee status. Some were repatriated, but others were relocated to domestic destinations. The influx of illegal immigrants from Albania constitutes a constant difficulty. In 2017, there were around five million foreigners in Italy, more than two thirds of whom came from third countries. The majority of new arrivals settled in northern and central Italy, and the south had a relatively higher proportion of African and North American immigrants than the north.
