Arabs in Italy

Ethnic group

Arabs in Italy
Arabi in ItaliaTotal population

719,545 – 801,595 (2021; foreign citizens only)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations

* Lombardy
* Emilia-Romagna
* Piedmont
* Veneto

Languages
Arabic and Italian
Religion
Islam and Christianity

Arabs in Italy (Italian: Arabi in Italia, Arabic: عرب إيطاليا) are Italian residents of Arab heritage.

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), most Arab non-Italian citizens residing in Italy come from North Africa, most notably from Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Other notable countries of origin include Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Jordan and Palestine.

As a result of mixed marriages and naturalization, many Arabs in Italy are Italian nationals or second-generation children of expatriates. Between 2008 and 2020, almost 340,000 people from Arab-speaking countries acquired Italian citizenship. As Italy doesn't collect data based on ethnicity it is not possible to know the actual number of Italians with Arab ancestry.

## History

[edit]

In the 9th century AD, Arabs settled in mass in the island of Sicily and formed the Emirate of Sicily under Islamic rule.[3] During this period, there were several attempts to invade mainland Italy, with the Emirate of Bari being one of the most notable examples.[4] Arabs have significantly impacted the genetics of the Island of Sicily as well as neighboring areas.[5]

## Population

[edit]

Foreigners from Arab countries in Italy according to the 2021 Census[1] Ancestry  | Population  | % of Italy population

|
|

Moroccan | 428,947 | 0.724%
Egyptian | 139,569 | 0.236%
Tunisian | 97,407 | 0.164%
Algerian | 18,538 | 0.031%
Somali | 7,629 | 0.014%
Syrian | 6,633 | 0.011%
Iraqi | 6,035 | 0.009%
Lebanese | 4,374 | 0.007%
Libyan | 2,741 | 0.005%
Sudanese | 2,382 | 0.004%
Jordanian | 1,616 | 0.003%
Palestinians | 1,078 | 0.002%
Mauritanians | 779 | 0.001%
Saudi | 734 | <0.001%
Bahrain | 413 | <0.001%
Yemeni | 308 | <0.001%
Qatari | 101 | <0.001%
Kuwaiti | 101 | <0.001%
Emirati | 67 | <0.001%
Omani | 48 | <0.001%
Djibouti | 26 | <0.001%
Comoros | 19 | <0.001%
Total | 719,545 | 1.215%
People from Arab countries who became Italian citizens between 2008 and 2020 by country of origin[6] Previous citizenship  | Population  | % of Italy population

|
|

Moroccan | 249,147 | 0.421%
Tunisian | 39,616 | 0.067%
Egyptian | 27,510 | 0.046%
Algerian | 11,865 | 0.020%
Lebanese | 2,444 | 0.004%
Somali | 1,999 | 0.003%
Syrian | 1,993 | 0.003%
Jordanian | 1,569 | 0.003%
Iraqi | 827 | 0.001%
Sudanese | 658 | 0.001%
Palestinians | 485 | <0.001%
Mauritanians | 352 | <0.001%
Libyan | 307 | <0.001%
Yemeni | 66 | <0.001%
Kuwaiti | 31 | <0.001%
Saudi | 13 | <0.001%
Bahrain | 7 | <0.001%
Djibouti | 6 | <0.001%
Qatari | 4 | <0.001%
Emirati | 4 | <0.001%
Comoros | 3 | <0.001%
Omani | 1 | <0.001%
Total | 338,907 | 0.572%
Foreign-born people from Arab countries by country of birth (2021 census)[7] Country of birth  | Population  | % of Italy population

|
|

Morocco | 457,002 | 0.771%
Egypt | 137,335 | 0.232%
Tunisia | 108,831 | 0.184%
Libya | 32,257 | 0.054%
Algeria | 21,404 | 0.036%
Somalia | 10,880 | 0.018%
Syria | 8,227 | 0.014%
Lebanon | 8,052 | 0.014%
Iraq | 6,872 | 0.012%
Sudan | 3,007 | 0.005%
Jordan | 2,969 | 0.005%
Saudi Arabia | 1,373 | 0.002%
United Arab Emirates | 860 | 0.001%
Mauritania | 818 | 0.001%
Kuwait | 710 | 0.001%
Yemen | 397 | <0.001%
Qatar | 250 | <0.001%
Bahrain | 100 | <0.001%
Palestine | 83 | <0.001%
Oman | 81 | <0.001%
Djibouti | 70 | <0.001%
Comoros | 17 | <0.001%
Total | 801,595 | 1.353%

## Notable people

[edit]

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Arabs in Italy.

## See also

[edit]

* Arab diaspora
* Arabs in Europe
* History of Islam in southern Italy
* Muslim conquest of Sicily
* Saracinesco

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Cittadini stranieri in Italia – 2021". tuttitalia.it. "Only non-Italian citizens with permanent residence in Italy are included."
2. ^ "People by country of birth – 2021". eurostat.eu.
3. ^ Metcalfe, Alex (2009-09-17). Muslims of Medieval Italy. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2911-4.
4. ^ Bondioli, Lorenzo M. (2018-12-12). "Islamic Bari between the Aghlabids and the Two Empires". The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: 470–490\. doi:10.1163/9789004356047_024. ISBN 9789004356047. S2CID 165262442.
5. ^ Rickards, Olga; Biondi, Gianfranco; Stefano, Gian Franco De; Vecchi, Francesco; Walter, Hubert (1992). "Genetic structure of the population of Sicily". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 87 (4): 395–406\. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330870403. ISSN 1096-8644. PMID 1533751.
6. ^ "Acquisition of citizenship, Italy".
7. ^ "Population by country of birth".

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