Immigration and training

Foreigners with university degrees: Italy is second to last in the European Union

The share of immigrants aged 15-64 with a university degree is 11.7 per cent against an EU average of 28 per cent

by Valentina Melis

26 June 2025

3' min read

Key points

An Italian problem too
The situation of foreigners

3' min read

Italy is an unattractive country for immigrant graduates. If we consider foreign citizens resident in our country between the ages of 15 and 64 - of working age - those with a university or post-graduate degree arejust 11.7 per cent, against an average of 28 per cent in the European Union. Only Greece has a lower figure, where the share of immigrants with a university degree is 8.3 per cent.

Data processed for Il Sole 24 Ore del Lunedì by Fondazione Leone Moressa highlight the phenomenon underlined by the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, in his last annual report, who recalled how Italy, among the main European countries, is the one with the lowest share of immigrants with a university degree, in an economic context that, due to demographic decline, will see the population of working age shrinking more and more (see also Il Sole 24 Ore of Sunday 15 June).

Stranieri con la laurea: l’Italia è penultima nell’Unione europea

An Italian problem too

In reality, the gap in tertiary education compared to the European average also affects Italian citizens: the share of the over 15 who have a degree or higher qualification is 20.7 per cent, well below the EU average of 32 per cent. The education gap, therefore, is a structural problem that affects the entire population, regardless of citizenship. The high average age, and thus the permanence in our labour market of people with lower educational qualifications, also weighs heavily.The number of graduates is advancing slowly, in fact, in the younger age brackets: among residents between 25 and 34 years old, graduates are 30.6 per cent (Istat). A better figure, but still lower than in Spain (52%) and the EU average (43.1%).

LE MAPPE

La percentuale di stranieri fra 15 e 64 anni con laurea o titolo post lauream, a confronto con la percentuale di laureati autoctoni. Anno 2024

The situation of foreigners

Foreign workers in Italy number 2.5 million (2024 figure), an increase of almost 6% compared to 2023. Graduates grew from 299,000 in 2023 to 321,000 in 2024.

But they do not always hold professions in line with their skills: not even half of these graduates hold a technical, intellectual or managerial profession. 27.6% work in office and skilled professions in services or commerce, while 29% have the qualification of blue collar worker, craftsman, or work in unskilled professions. This reflects the general situation of the foreign employed - including non-graduates - who for 61% are active in low-skilled sectors.

There is, therefore, for foreigners arriving in Italy, the prevailing prospect of performing low-skilled jobs and sometimes being under-utilised. This makes the country less attractive for people with higher qualifications.

The path to having a degree obtained abroad legally recognised in Italy is often difficult, as Chiara Tronchin, a researcher at the Leone Moressa Foundation, points out: 'It is likely,' she explains, 'that part of the gap between Italy and the EU in terms of the number of immigrant graduates is to be attributed to the complex and often lengthy processes of recognition of degrees obtained abroad, which end up discouraging or penalising many skilled immigrants.

The level of salaries does not help either Italian graduates to stay, or foreign ones to move to our country, as Laura Zanfrini, professor of Sociology of Migrations and head of the Economy and Labour sector of the Ismu Foundation, emphasises: "Among foreign workers - she explains - there are figures in great demand, such as nurses, who prefer to emigrate to countries where they earn more, such as Switzerland, rather than move to Italy. An issue that needs to be addressed at system level, also involving companies, - he adds - is the adaptation of the training and skills of foreign workers, envisaging integrative linguistic and professional paths'.

Another critical issue concerns recruitment: 'Italy,' continues Laura Zanfrini, 'must position itself in a global competition to attract qualified personnel. But foreign workers are still too often considered a reservoir of manual labour. Companies should take steps to recruit abroad. The EU Blue Card, for example, the special residence permit issued to highly skilled foreign workers, has recently been simplified by Legislative Decree 152/2023, but it is still a little-known instrument'.