In ten years immigrant entrepreneurs grow by 24%, for Italians a decline of over 5%

Immigration accounts for 9% of GDP. Agriculture and construction are the sectors with the highest incidence. The need for labour is increasing due to the demographic decline. This is what emerges from the Annual Report 2025 on the Economy of Immigration, edited by the Fondazione Leone Moressa and presented on 20 October at the Cnel and the Chamber of Deputies.

Foreigners residing in Italy in 2024 are 5.3 million (8.9% of the total population). But this figure rises to 6.7 million (11.3%) if we consider those born abroad. This gap derives essentially from the acquisition of Italian citizenship, more than 200,000 per year. The population with a migratory background continues to make a positive contribution to the Italian demography with a higher birth rate (9.9 births per thousand inhabitants among foreigners, 6.1 among Italians) and a lower death rate (2.1 / 12.3 per thousand). In 2023, for example, Italians decreased by 385,000, while foreigners increased by 375,000. Among foreigners, only 6% are over 64 years old, while among Italians this component reaches 26%.

Foreign workers number 2.51 million (10.5%) but, again, this rises to 3.65 million when considering the country of birth (15.2%). Foreign workers produce 177 billion in added value, contributing 9% to GDP, with peaks of 18.0% in agriculture and 16.4% in construction.

According to Unioncamere - Excelsior forecasts, in the five-year period 2024-2028 Italian companies will need 3 million new employees (excluding the public administration), 640,000 of whom will be immigrants (21.3%). 80% of Italy's labour needs will depend on retirement-related turnover and only 20% on economic growth. In the regions of Central and Northern Italy, the percentage of immigrants on the total needs exceeds 25%, with peaks of 31% in Tuscany and Trentino Alto Adige.