African emigrants to Italy
Depiction of a Black Italian (Venice, 1496) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,096,089 in 2015 (Of those 370,068 are Black Sub-Saharan Africans) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Rome, Milan, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo, Florence | |
| Languages | |
| Italian, Afro-Asiatic languages, Niger–Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Roman Catholicism, also Orthodox, Other Christians · Sunni Islam |
African emigrants to Italy include Italian citizens and residents originally from Africa. Immigrants from Africa officially residing in Italy in 2015 numbered about 1,000,000 residents. Afro-Italians (Afroitaliani) are Italians born in Africa but raised in Italy, Italian citizens of African descent, or of mixed African and Italian roots.
In 2014, over 170,000 migrants arrived, which represented the biggest influx of people into one country in European Union history at the time. A large percentage of them arrived via Africa.
African migrants specifically use Libyan coasts to travel across the Mediterranean Sea in large numbers, hoping to land on Italian shores. Although departing from Libya, most are from Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and Eritrea. According to data from the UN Refugee Agency, over 66,000 migrants arrived to Italy via sea routes in 2024. The route is dangerous and often unsuccessful; in 2024, 1,172 people died or went missing while crossing the Mediterranean and many of the other boats transporting the migrants from Africa to Italy were intercepted by the Libyan coast guard. As this route has gained more and more attention throughout the years, smugglers have started to use alternate routes such as through Egypt, the Balkan route from Greece, and a very risky route from mountain passes in Albania.
Job markets and economic opportunities represent a major driver of African immigration to Europe. However, a 2019 study also found issues pertaining to food insecurity, civil rights, and political instability significantly impacted outflow of migrants from African countries. While European legislation concerning immigration flow has focused primarily on economic draws, these socio-political factors have also been shown to have a demonstrated impact.
In 2016, Italy's finance minister pushed for financial compensation from the European Union for his country's financial losses because of mass migration. As of 2016, the European Union had put forth 1.8 billion euros for the entirety of Africa's refugee efforts in Europe.