Remittances from foreigners residing in Italy to their countries of origin increased in 2020 and are also growing in the first half of 2021. Money transfers abroad through payment institutions or other authorized intermediaries are worth 3.63 billion in the first half of the year 2021, up by 24.8% compared to the same period in 2020 and steadily increasing from 2017 onwards. And by the end of the year they will have broken through 7 billion.
This was revealed by the elaborations of the Leone Moressa Foundation based on data from the Bank of Italy, contained in the 2021 Report on the economy of immigration, which will be discussed on November 23 in Venice at a conference at the Iuav University (15.30 – 17.30, classroom Tafuri, Palazzo Badoer).
The Italian growth
In 2020, remittances were sent from our country for 6.77 billion, an increase of 13% compared to 2019. A figure, in the pandemic year, in contrast with the international trend: according to the projections of the World Bank, the total volume of remittances it would drop from € 639 billion in 2019 to € 583 billion in 2020 and € 542 billion in 2021. This is because the virus has led to increased unemployment and inactivity among the most vulnerable groups, including migrants.
Also in Italy, Covid-19 has caused the number of foreign workers to drop from over 2.5 million in 2019, to 2.34 million in 2020 (see Il Sole 24 Ore of 11 October). In other words, almost 160,000 jobs have been lost, just under 60,000 EU citizens and 100,000 non-EU citizens.
Despite this, the savings that flowed to the countries of origin have grown. “The remittances of immigrants highlight the dynamism of the foreign population”, explains Chiara Tronchin, researcher at the Leone Moressa Foundation. “Although the pandemic has had a negative impact on employment – he continues – foreigners have not given up on supporting families in their countries of origin: so far, every foreign citizen has sent an average of over 120 euros per month.