In the 10 years 2012-2021, there were approximately 1 million 138 thousand outgoing movements from the South and the Islands towards the Centre-North and approximately 613 thousand on the reverse route.
The balance between expenditure and income has resulted in a net loss of 525 thousand residents for the South. This is what emerges from the latest Istat report 'Internal and international migration of the resident population'.
Secondo Istat “the significant internal migrations of the last century, which mainly affected the direction from the South towards the Centre-North, had as an effect a progressive redistribution of the population, causing a structural impoverishment of entire areas in terms of both depopulation and the depletion of qualified human resources”.
In 2021, the recovery of internal mobility also affected travel along this route. Transfers from southern municipalities to northern ones amounted to approximately 112 thousand, a slight increase (+3%) compared to 2020, but a sharp decline (-17%) compared to the pre-pandemic period.
The region of Southern Italy from which most departures are made is Campania (30% of cancellations from Southern Italy), followed by Sicily (23%) and Puglia (18%). In relative terms, compared to the resident population, the highest emigration rate is in Calabria (about eight residents per 1.000). Rates above 6‰ are recorded for Basilicata and Molise.
The region towards which these flows are mainly directed is, in absolute terms, Lombardy (28%) but, in relative terms, Emilia-Romagna is the one that attracts them the most (four transfers from the South per 1.000 residents).
The province in the South from which the most departures to the Centre-North are recorded is Naples in absolute terms (17 thousand departures), while Crotone has the highest emigration rate: 11 residents out of 1.000 who move to the Centre-North.
Conversely, the central-northern province that receives the most emigrants from the south is Milan (14 thousand arrivals), but, in relative terms, the metropolitan area of Bologna is more attractive (6‰).
Article published on 9 February 2023 - 15:30
