ITALIA. Profilo del Paese. Rapporto del Centro Europeo per i Diritti deI Rom
ITALY: Country Profile. Report of the European Roma Rights Centre

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Migration Studies, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: European Roma Rights Center
Keywords: Roma in Italy;
Summary/Abstract: There are no precise figures on the current number of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti (RSC) in Italy and the available data on their socio-economic situation are insufficient. Roma in Italy are not a homogeneous group, have different legal statuses as well as various levels of integration in Italian society. According to unofficial estimates there are about 110,000-180,000 Roma in Italy, Italian citizens and migrants (registered), and represent about 0.25% of the total population. Half of them are under 16 and only 0.3% are over 60 years old. These figures are greater if we take into account those Roma who do not have residency and are "illegally" or "irregularly" present in the country. Among the Roma in Italy there are stateless persons in fact from the former Yugoslavia, for which reliable data are lacking. It is estimated that around 70,000 Roma are Italian citizens who have been living in Italy for more than 600 years and are present throughout the country; about 90,000 are Roma who were not born in Italy or born in Italy from immigrant parents, mainly from Eastern Europe. Then there are Roma from the former Yugoslavia who have been living in Italy for over 40 years and have subsequently become Italian citizens. During the wars of the 1990s a new wave of Roma from the former Yugoslavia arrived in Italy to seek asylum; some asylum applications, but not all, were accepted. In the last ten years the Roma, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria, have migrated to an increasing number in Italy, especially after the abolition of the visa regime in 2002 and the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in January 2007.

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