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African emigrants to Italy

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(Redirected from Italians of African descent)

Afro Italians
Depiction of a Black man in Venice (Venice, 1496)
Total population
1,096,089[1]
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.[1]

Modern history

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In 2014 over 170,000 migrants arrived which represented the biggest influx of people into one country in European Union history.[2] A large percentage of them arrive via Africa.

African migrants specifically use Libyan coasts to travel across the Mediterranean Sea in large numbers, hoping to land on Italian shores.[2] Although departing from Libya, most are from Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and Eritrea.[2] The route is dangerous and often unsuccessful; in 2015, 2,000 people died crossing the Mediterranean and the Libyan coast guard intercepted many of the boats transporting the migrants from Africa to Italy.[2] As this route has gained more and more attention throughout the years, smugglers have started to use alternate routes such as Egypt, the Balkan route from Greece, and a very risky route from mountain passes in Albania.[3]

In 2016, Italy's finance minister pushed for financial compensation from the European Union for his country's financial losses because of mass migration.[3] As of 2016, the European Union had put forth 1.8 billion euros for the entirety of Africa's refugee efforts in Europe.[4]

Countries of origin

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North Africa

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The largest group of immigrants from Africa are Arabs/Berbers from North Africa, numbering 641,085 official residents in 2016.[1] By country of origin, most of these recent arrivals are from Morocco (437,485), Egypt (109,871), Tunisia (95,645) and Algeria (71,765). Italy also has a number of immigrants from Libya (1,819), territories where Italian expatriates had a presence during the colonial period.

Sub-Saharan Africans

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A group of black African men sitting or squatting on a low bench next to a glass wall in a large city square. In the rear can be seen a street with a tall rectilinear skyscraper
Ghanaian immigrants in Milan

Compared to Maghrebis/Berbers from North Africa, the percentage of Sub-Saharan Africans as a proportion of immigrants to Italy from Africa is 35.7% (370,068 official residents in 2015).[1] Most come from Nigeria (98,176), Senegal (77,264) and Ghana (48,637). There are also smaller numbers from Eritrea (9,579), from Ethiopia (8,000) and from Somalia (7,903).

Notable immigrants to Italy

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The following is a list of notable people of African birth who later immigrated to Italy and resided there, either wholly or at least part time.

Sports

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Politicians

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Music

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Communications and other media

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Acting, television and filmmaking

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Community activists

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  • Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869–1947), Catholic religious sister, born in Sudan; declared a saint by the Catholic Church in 2000
  • Michele Amatore (1826 - 1883), born in Sudan, enslaved in childhood, later freed and established in Italy; soldier and sharpshooter in Piedmontese army, attaining rank of captain. Decorated for distinguished service in Sicily during a cholera epidemic.
  • Adel Smith (1960–2014), controversial Italian anti-Christian activist. Born Emilio Smith in Alexandria, Egypt to an Italian father and an Egyptian mother; raised in Italy as a Catholic, he later converted to Islam

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Dati ISTAT 2016. "Cittadini stranieri in Italia - 2016". tuttitalia.it.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d "African migrants: What really drives them to Europe?". Al Jazeera. 6 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b Adler, Katya (April 19, 2016). "Mass migration threatens national crisis in Italy". BBC News – via www.bbc.com.
  4. ^ "European Union/African Cooperation: the externalisation of Europe's migration policies". www.robert-schuman.eu.
  5. ^ Fikes, Robert (2015-11-29). "Leone Jacovacci (1902–1983)". Black Past. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
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