Over the past 25 years, the emigration of young people aged 18 to 34 from Italy, taking place against the background of a low birth rate, has led to a decrease in the number of young people in the country from 13.5 million to 9 million. It is estimated that 337,000 young people left the country between 2011 and 2023 alone. That, according to the leading economic newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, is taking on the character of a “real big escape.”
The figures are taken from the report “Youth and the decision to go abroad”, prepared by the research center of the Northeastern Foundation, operating in the Veneto region. It is published on the website of the National Council of Economics and Labor (CNEL)
The foundation’s surveys have shown that even in such developed areas of Northern Italy as Lombardy and Veneto, 35% of young people are ready to move abroad. Among the main motives, 25% of them name better employment opportunities, 19% see more opportunities for education and professional training, 17% expect a higher quality of life. Another 10% believe that they will have a higher salary abroad.
The main areas of emigration of Italian youth are Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Brazil, the USA, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. Just over 40% of young people who left Italy have higher education degrees, and about 30% have secondary education certificates. And about 30% do not have any documents on completed education at all, but hope for employment where qualifications are not required, or expect to continue their studies abroad.
At the same time, 87% of those who went abroad positively assess their choice, and 33% definitely plan to live outside Italy. Among the remaining young people, however, a different mood prevails: only 22% are satisfied with their living conditions, 45% express concern about the “uncertainty” of the future, 34% are “afraid” of it, 21% believe that “poverty” awaits them, and 17% are afraid of being “out of work.”
“Italy’s low attractiveness to young people is a real economic and social disaster on a national scale. The country is entering a critical phase of a shortage of young people and their flight abroad. Young people are not enough for business, the public administration system, and they will be increasingly missed in all vital social and economic spheres,” Renato Brunetta, Chairman of the National Council of Economy and Labor, commented on the report.
The concern of this well-known economist, who was Minister of Civil Service Affairs in the government of Mario Draghi until 2022, can be understood, as well as the reason for this concern. According to Eurostat, one of the reasons why young graduated Italians prefer to move abroad is the possibility of faster employment. The European average employment rate for graduates within three years of graduation is 80%, while in Italy it barely reaches 67.5%, and according to this indicator, it is one of the last countries on the continent.
It should be added that the average salary in Italy is lower than the EU average and is significantly lower than in the countries where young people who emigrate mainly look. According to Ipsos, an international marketing research company, the wage gap between young professionals living abroad and in Italy can reach 56% a year after graduation, and 59% after five years.
I asked a good friend, Francesco N., to share his thoughts on this matter. He is 31 years old, works in a small technology startup near Milan and studies by correspondence at the university. “In Italy,” he says, “it’s difficult to get support to implement your ideas, but in Germany, for example, it’s much easier. Suffice it to say that we managed to find financing for our startup only abroad. Here, too, much rests on bureaucracy. Take, for example, a work device. For this purpose, a whole system of multi-level interviews has been invented, which in the best case can end with the signing of a fixed-term employment contract. My wife had to sign such contracts every three months for five years to get a permanent job as a cashier in a supermarket. Such “internships” are well used by employers who save on wages, given that there is still no concept of a minimum wage in Italy.”
Francesco explains that another reason for the emigration of young Italians is the high cost of higher education in the country compared to what universities in other EU countries offer. Therefore, many of his friends choose universities in Germany, Finland and Sweden for their master’s degree.
What he said is confirmed by an article published by Elle magazine entitled “Why young Italians emigrate in search of work.” It says that “the Italian labor market does not look particularly attractive in the eyes of young people, whose expectations are not being met due to the difficulties that arise: employment today does not in itself guarantee complete autonomy and independence due to low wages compared to the high cost of renting housing and the rising cost of living.”
Young people, on the other hand, “expect great and concrete opportunities for professional, cultural and personal growth” and, failing to receive them, are ready to go abroad “to find a job that would satisfy them in all respects.” This has led to the fact that “over the past decade, the emigration rate of recent Italian graduates has more than doubled.”Â
