Albanian migration to Italy: what official data and survey results can reveal

Drawing on secondary sources - statistical data and published surveys - the article offers a detailed overview of Albanian migration to Italy since 1990. The paper addresses four main topics. First, we review the size and socio-demographic characteristics of the Albanians who have immigrated to Italy. Two data sources are used: permits to stay and population registers. Both reveal a fast-growing immigrant population during the 1990s, and one which is becoming more demographically normalised, with more women and children. The second part of the paper examines the labour market performance of Albanian immigrants, who are generally confined to a variety of low-status jobs with only limited evidence of occupational improvement. Regional contrasts, especially between northern and southern Italy, are important, since Albanian employment is closely tied to regional economic structures. Compared to other immigrant nationalities in Italy, Albanians have a weak tendency to become self-employed or business owners. Housing is the third topic of the paper: again the regional dimension is important, as well as the length of stay in Italy. Early arrivals, now with families, are reasonably well integrated in the housing market; recent migrants much less so. Nevertheless, Albanians as a whole suffer high levels of housing deprivation, above all because of the constricted supply of cheap accommodation and some discrimination by landlords. In the final section of the paper we address the complex issue of Albanians' alleged propensity for crime and deviancy: the figures strongly suggest this is a falsely constructed image.