Every day in Italy 80 people disappear into thin air. There were 29.315 reports of disappearance in 2023, with a worrying increase of 20% compared to the previous year. Almost half (48,3%) have been found, while 15.156 people remain missing. Of those found, 188 were unfortunately found dead.
The phenomenon mainly affects minors, who represent 75% of the missing (21.951 cases), of which 17.535 are foreigners. Men are more at risk than women, with 80% of the reports (23.458) against 20% (5.857). Two thirds of the reports concern foreigners (19.646).
The Annual Report of the Government's Special Commissioner for Missing Persons reveals a worrying figure: 1.746 people were reported missing and traced multiple times in 2023. Most of the removals, both for foreigners (88%) and Italians (75,6%), are initially classified as "voluntary". For foreigners, these are often escapes from institutions or communities.
Sicily is the region with the highest number of reports of missing foreigners (6.883), followed by Campania (1.704) and Lombardy (1.663). For Italians, Lombardy is the first region for number of missing persons (1.637), followed by Campania (1.221) and Sicily (1.020).
Statistics highlight the importance of promptness in searches: over 70% of missing persons were found within seven days of being reported.
The Report also deals with unidentified cadavers: approximately one thousand are present in the specific national register.
The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, commented: “The Ministry of the Interior has always made the utmost effort to address this complex phenomenon that involves thousands of people every year, mostly minors and vulnerable individuals. We work daily to strengthen and make our intervention tools increasingly efficient. I thank the Special Commissioner, the Prefectures and all the actors who daily provide their valuable contribution to the system of searching for missing persons.”
Article published on March 5, 2024 - 18pm
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